#also i don't know why i keep tagging spoilers when this is already well known but just in case
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Some people are all "Doflamingo is pure evil from the start", "he never cared for anyone", "he never really loved his brother, he was only using him, it's not like he cared for him nor anything like that".
Meanwhile, Doffy before and after killing his own brother:
The whorification is real with this one, just saying u.u
Not saying he was sane before, we know he very much wasn't, but judging by the change in his fashion sense, commiting fratricide against his last surviving family member really took its toll on him. He pretty much just went batshit crazy after that. Just look at him. Like, yes, his trausers were ridiculous since the begining, but he got much worst afterwards? XD Plus, he seems way more unhinged now than he did in his youth, he really lost it.
#one piece#donquixote doflamingo#one piece spoilers#still the best sociopathic overgrown pink chicken bird boy out there#just saying#i love him#by the way this post is just for fun#i don't think murdering his own borther really affected his fashion choices but it is a 'funny' coincidence#also yes i'm ignoring the weather difference lol#I do think his character is far deeper than just 'pure evil' though#I just can't belive what a grown up traumatized 8 years old says about his older brother who commited parricide in front of him#I do agree that right now doffy is indeed pure irredeemable evil and I hope he stays that way; it makes him even more of a tragic character#but I in no way believe he was 'born' evil#not in the slightest and at least not as far gone as he is now#but that's a different discussion i won't get into right now XD#also i don't know why i keep tagging spoilers when this is already well known but just in case
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Bad Batch Season 3, Episode I Don't Even Know And Honestly Will Not Be Keeping Track
* SPOILERS *
(solely because Mina Nunyabiz *REAL NAME REDACTED* has gone on so many diatribes about this inexcusable social faux pas on Tumblr known as failing to accurately and comprehensively tag your posts for pieces of media which some people haven't gotten to watching yet and this means that if they wish to be on Tumblr without getting unwanted foreknowledge they have to undergo some vast and imprecise tribulation known as filtering by tag)
I have come to two, nay, three, EIGHT whole conclusions:
a. Tech hacked the Star Wars Internet.
b. Tech was the Star Wars Internet.
c. Pabu does not have Star Wars Internet.
d. The Batch cannot function without their Internet.
e. The Batch has lost its sole functioning strategic brain cell. Hemlock caught it when Tech fell. The muscle and the face are kind of just winging it now; the auxiliary brain cell said "haha see you later, losers, I need to be Rex's chauffeur"; and the attitude's first and only plan is, as always, just "KILL".
f. These men are adorable and also utter morons.
g. Crosshair has no experience with women. Ever. He doesn't even know how to talk to them. They're a different species to him even when they aren't literally a different species. His two methods of social interaction just recently expanded to three (murder, snark, and now mother hen) and still none of them have anything to do with proper behavior towards adult females. Let alone one who doesn't share his genes. You can tell by the way he wildly swung from default "PICK FIGHT/KILL" to "offer genteel non-sarcastic hand up to my ship without sarcasm after you almost got my Stockholm syndroming sister killed by a giant turtle because if I can't kill you I literally am at a loss for how to behave towards you".
h. Tech was the only member of the squad who ever bothered to get a newspaper and check to see who they were actually fighting.
Omega IS unsettling. Well noticed Venti
Hunter, continuing to be the king of asking the specific follow-up questions that the audience feels is relevant and the askee absolutely cannot answer without losing their mysterious vibes (see: season 1 finale -- "WHEN did you have your chip removed, exactly" "Does it matter?" "YES")
Hunter, continuing to be the king of not getting an answer to his very reasonable specific follow-up question
For special ops commandos in a war they were literally created to fight, these guys do not seem to have much of a concept of "stranger danger"
"ASKING FOR A FRIEND" omigosh Omega. I have never been so ashamed of you. The big fascist experiment-happy regime is after you. WHY CAN YOU STILL NOT LIE
Why is Omega just. In charge now
And still the most unbelievable thing about this episode was like half a minute in with Crosshair willingly helping a random Pabuan AND not mercing them when they dared to smile, thank him, and use his name
HOWEVER MANY EPISODES IN AND WE JUST GOT TO THE ANSWER THAT EVERYBODY ALREADY KNEW ABOUT M-COUNTS
WAY TOO MANY EPISODES IN AND WE STILL DIDN'T GET A STRAIGHT-UP ANSWER ABOUT OMEGA'S
Qui-gon had a blood test! With a little litmus stick and everything! The crazy weed-addicted space monk had a scientific stick he jabbed baby Anakin with and HEY PRESTO M-COUNT SPREADSHEET. WHERE IS THAT HANDY BIT OF TECHNOLOGY HUH
#bad batch season 3#star wars#the bad batch#funny#tbb season 3 spoilers#spoilers#the bad batch season 3 spoilers#mywildernesspost
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add a little spark to the fire
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV
Ship: WOLstinien
Tags: references to a friends with benefit relationship, mild spoilers for Heavensward, love confession
also on ao3
When Estinien wakes up in the infirmary he is greeted by the sight of one Phantom Drifter. In the brief moments alone, they discuss their relationship and Phantom confesses to wanting more.
Written for the Fictober prompt: "Don't worry, I got you."
One of the last people Estinien wanted to see when he woke up was the goddamn Warrior of Light. There were others higher on the list, but with things as they were currently, Phantom's presence was a little unwelcome.
He was currently reading a book, although what kind of book Estinien wasn't quite sure. The cover was a dark purple and if there were words, they were currently obscured by the position they held it in. Estinien must have made a noise when he woke up because Phantom's head snapped up with a bright smile. He leaned forward, closing the book and letting it hang over the side of his lap as he crossed his arms. How long he had been sitting at Estinien's bedside was difficult to gauge. He seemed just as perky as he always did.
"Phantom? What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? Should I not be here?"
"I thought you had left Ishgard already."
"Ah well I had some unfinished business to attend to. But I do plan on leaving soon. Things keep on happening after all."
Estinien nodded. He got that, at least. Things this time around had gone, well, bad. Estinien knew that his own role in it caused immense problems, but that was over. For now. Estinien had no idea if things would get worse later on. He also did feel a little relief at Phantom's presence. Despite the annoyance, they were skilled and one of the few people he knew he could trust to get things done. Looking at them now, grin on their face and their ears a little drooped over, you wouldn't think it.
"I wanted to see you again. Alone."
There was something to that last word that made Estinien shift in his bed. He could see where this was going and he was glad that they were alone right now.
"Do we truly need to be alone?"
"Well, you're the one who didn't want anyone else to know."
He seemed far too dismissive of that fact, as if it didn't phase him at all. Estinien knew Phantom a little better than that, knowing that they enjoyed all the time they spent together. Phantom was the one who initiated things between them, even before they came here for the first time. Estinien never took much stock in it the first few times. Phantom was charming in a way that was perplexing, but Estinien didn't mind casual sex. The fact that he wanted to get him out of his armor time and time again, was confusing, but he never protested against it. In fact, something he kept in the far back reaches of his mind, when Phantom stopped showing up every once in a while, he had missed them. But even though he didn't mind their situation, Estinien didn't want others to know. It would paint himself in a light he'd prefer to avoid. People would be annoying about it, especially now when Phantom was now a much more well-known figure here. That Estinien, cold and mean, gave in to Phantom's advances during their second time meeting... Well he'd never hear the end of it.
"You don't mind if they know?"
"Why would I mind?" Phantom looked seriously confused by the question. "I like being around you Estinien. I was happy when you showed up and we got to spend more time together. I wouldn't be here now if I didn't want to be. Besides the others have already gossiped about us. It's a little late to hide it completely."
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
Estinien closed his eyes, wishing that sleep would just claim him again and get him out of this conversation with Phantom. He opened his eyes after a minute, sitting up and sighing. A wave of dizziness came suddenly, knocking Estinien to lie back down. He felt a hand cover one of his own and opened his eyes to see a concerned but reassuring gaze.
"Don't worry, I got you."
Estinien laughed. "You know any healing magic?"
Phantom laughed as well, although his was brighter coupled with a smile. "Not yet, but I'm sure I can learn. But I know how to take care of someone. I spent a long time learning the basics of survival." It was one of the first time that Phantom had ever spoke of his own past. Most of what Estinien even knew was probably obvious. Phantom came from a Viera village, having left it during puberty as was tradition. He also knew that Phantom was likely older than what people suspected, although his age was still a mystery. But it did make sense when he thought about it. Phantom seemed to have no trouble surviving and managing while traveling. He had to learn that somewhere. "If you need anything just let me know."
"I need you to leave me alone."
"Ha. Well if you really want that, I'll go. But I haven't yet told you why I'm here now." Estinien waited, letting them have the chance to explain before he told them to get lost again. Phantom kept their hand over his own and Estinien made no move to change that. "I like you Estinien. More than just as a friend or comrade or someone to fuck. I really like you. I want to be together with you."
"Like dating?"
"Yes! Like dating."
Estinien was stunned, pulling his hand back. He forced himself to sit up again, putting up a hand to stop Phantom from trying to help him in any way. He stared at him over the hand, taking in his expression. He looked serious, his ears twitching nervously, a tic that Estinien only recently registered. He looked hopeful too. What was Estinien supposed to do with that?
"I don't do relationships. I only tolerated your closeness because we were working together."
"And I'm great at sex?"
Estinien rolled his eyes. "That is all it should be. You're probably better finding someone else to be with."
"Maybe. But finding someone else doesn't mean I can't be with you too. You know when we first started hooking up, I had a boyfriend."
"Had?"
Phantom looked away, their ears twitching again, but also drooping slightly. Ah, this was a topic that seemed to trouble them. "Yeah. It's complicated but we aren't together right now."
"You think that will change?"
Phantom nodded. "Of course. I love him. When I find Thancred again, I'll tell him that I won't let go of him this time." Phantom reached out to take one of Estinien's hands again. "But it doesn't have to be him or you. I want you both."
"I'm not some replacement until he gets back?"
"No!" Phantom stood up this time, coming over to sit on the bed. Estinien moved back, overwhelmed by the sudden closeness and intensity coming from Phantom. "You're not a replacement. I love you for who you are. Just as I love him for who he is. I'm not asking you to be with me until he comes back. I'm asking you to be with me from now until we can no longer be together. I want you both."
"I don't know. I never really had relationships before, let alone one like that."
Phantom nodded. "I understand. I didn't mean to pressure you or anything. I just wanted you to know. Think about it and give me your answer when you can." Phantom leaned forward and Estinien knew what he wanted. He hesitated, uncertain if this was the right move or if it'd give Phantom false hope. He had no idea how he felt. But he knew Phantom. Knew them better than he knew most people. He closed the distance and kissed them. It felt like a farewell and it almost soured the kiss. But Phantom kissed him again and again, until there was a knock at the door. They parted, both breathing a little hard. Phantom touched his cheek and smiled.
"I'll be waiting. I know we'll see each other again."
With that Phantom was gone. Someone else came in to check on him and make sure he was recovering well, but his mind was distracted by thoughts of Phantom Drifter. Of their time together and of what he said. Was it really possible? He wasn't sure. But maybe he'd have an answer for them sooner than they expected.
#fictober23#ffxiv#wolstinien#Phantom has three husbands and one wife by the end of Endwalker#here is a scene from one of his confessions#I love this man
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I don't really understand why people are so sceptical of Kim... like the boy is just trying to get information on who Porsche is and if he's the one trying to kill his older brother?
Like, I'm not getting the impression that Kim is purposefully going to but Chay in harm's way. Kim just wants to protect his older brother and figure out what the hell his father is up to.
Like, yeah, sure, he's shady, and the way he's going about it isn't the best, but he's not really cruel to the people that aren't part of the mafia world. I get that people may find him disconcerting due to the age gap + the double personality but I really don't think he'd do something on purpose to Chay. Especially after this past episode 7 when he's just realizing that he's just a kid with no knowledge of what Porsche's job is. Why is no one talking about how Porsche is gatekeeping/keeping secrets from Chay as well? Because he's protecting him? Well, doesn't Kim also have an older brother he wants to protect too?
I think it's actually quite sweet Kim's going out of his way to protect his older brother when Kinn probably has no idea that he's doing all that from his allegedly cold and aloof little brother who doesn't care enough to even stop by and stay in the house. I don't know, I'm just not understanding the hostility towards Kim.
Like, Porsche and Kinn already lead a bunch of armed and incredibly dangerous men to Porsche and Chay's house (episode 5), it's already not safe. Anything that happens to Chay can't be entirely put on Kim to blame.
I got nothing, anon.
I like Kim! He's trying to Batman protect his brother and figure out what's going on and it's great. And Chay is just absolutely darling and innocent and about to be in over his head.
But I agree that Kim isn't doing this to hurt Chay. He's trying to protect his own brother and Chay is just a Person of Interest in terms of finding out more about Porsche.
And, I mean, also the cutest little button in the whole world.
He's very good at that.
I actually really enjoy how Kim is trying to hint at Chay that he might know something and just smiling at the reply. He sees how sweet this boy! He knows that he doesn't get a chance to see innocence and kindness like this often. Because when you're in the mafia, innocence is at a premium.
In a lot of ways, Chay represents a life that Kim will never be able to understand or experience. He was protected and treated gently, he was beloved and kept safe and provided for and all without an ulterior motive. Chay is innocence and knows he is loved without question and was protected and is provided for and is independent and sweet and part of the rest of the world.
Kim is the youngest son of the head family of the mafia who had an older brother with long-standing trauma and no coping skills, a middle brother being molded into a leader, a manipulative father who's biggest concern is the continuation of the power of the family who has always, always known that the world is not a good place.
I mean, I enjoy age gaps in this kind of show and all their differences are great and really feed into the whole idea and everything that's happening between them. I'm very much looking forward to the betrayal that Chay is going to experience when he realizes that the mafia is everywhere around him. Because both Porsche and Kim are going to be involved in that and that's going to hurt. His idol and his older brother? Ooof.
But I also admit that I haven't been going out into the tag or the rest of the fandom so I cannot comment on anything specific about that.
(No book spoilers)
#kinnporsche#kimchay#thai drama#thai series#bl drama#bl series#thaibl#thai bl series#thai bl drama#thai bl
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fractured | the master chief
Halo on Thursdays is one of the reasons why I get up earlier to be able to watch it! It's one of the highlights of my week. The feedback I got from the first part - fragments - was the most feedback I have gotten from Tumblr in over a year, so thank you!
I am tagging people based on interest from the first part. This chapter will contain spoilers for Episode 3. Enjoy! If you saw Episode 3, I took some liberty with a particular thing they did for Cortana that I thought was bogus and changed it.
tag: @all-the-things-i-done - @mmkkzztt-blog - @lialacleaf - @ageless-aislynn -
Your eyes shoot open and your chest heaves for a breath. The lights around you are a soft blue and your jaw aches for a reprieve, but you can't remember how you got there to begin with.
All you know is one thing and one thing only. Survive.
"O-Orders?"
A hologram appears in your peripheral. Your whole body stiffens - please no i can't take this again please don't take this from me again - at her appearance, but it isn't until she's right next to the table you are strapped to that you realize how young she is. "There is no orders here right now, Sierra 343." She says softly. For some reason... you believe her. She isn't like anyone else you've met. She's gentle. Soft. Vulnerable. "Sleep now. You're safe."
What is your name?
“What-“ You swallow the knot in your throat and lift your eyes to meet her own. “What is the name your mother gave you?”
"I don't have a mother, but the name given to me was Cortana."
Your breath catches in your throat as you turn to face her. "Remember?" You ask as Cortana meets your gaze, pale blue with these wide curious eyes, and she talks to you like you're human.
"Your last mission to wipe out that band of Insurrectionists did rather well, ah-" She fidgets with her hands, clearly at a loss for what to call you other then your call-sign. John has a name. A beautiful one at that, but what do you call someone with no name? "What do you want me to call you?"
You flex your fingers and stare down at your hands. She'd long since released you at that point - unknown to Catherine, who was too busy with her prized Spartan - and the ache in your muscles was finally beginning to slip away. "343." You reply casually. "That is my name."
Realization flickers across her face as she steps closer to you. John has already produced increased amounts of hostility both toward her and her interaction with Silver Team, but you haven't. In fact, you seem to welcome her. "You're just like him. You don't remember."
Your breath catches in your throat as you turn to face her. "Remember?" You ask. "Is there something specific I am supposed to be remembering?"
Here's the thing no one has mentioned about what you know as being wiped: Your memories are stolen. They're not gone. Simply hidden away. Doctor Halsey had developed a means of replicating a state of amnesia that made you entirely complicit when it came to whatever she wanted you to do. Orders are orders. Spartans don't break them.
Cortana can see that you and John are lacking in the same thing. You don't know who you are, where you're from, what you've done. You have only known one purpose.
War.
And she hates that.
"I believe you and I are going to take care of each other, 343." The young AI reaches a tenative hand out, soft gaze watching the doubt flicker across your face before you begin to follow her. "You seem like you could be in need of a friend. And maybe a name too. I have just the one."
"Which is?"
"Soles. Latin for sunshine."
There's something so endearing about how proud she looks that she just gave her first nickname. It's so utterly ridiculous and probably the funniest thing you have heard in years, but the earnestness in those blue eyes is what keeps you from telling her that. You nod and watch a brilliant smile spread across her face before she's leading you elsewhere in the base.
Ghost would also work too. That is what you are. Were. Are.
Halsey is going to have her head for this.
***
"Where are you taking me, Cortana?"
Cortana has led you through a network of hallways parallel to Miranda's research bay. She seems to be on the lookout for something. Given that she's already expressed in detail what her purpose is for the spartans, you're not entirely surprised that she manages to find it with ease.
"Records room for all Spartans. Whatever you want to know about your life before you became a Headhunter would be located in here." She replied, lightly rapping on the door with her fingers. "This is more for me then it is for you. We can return for you later. Would it be okay if I asked you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you still have your inhibitor pellet? The one that suppresses your hormones?"
You furrow your brow at her. Halsey had never told you much about what the augmentations had consisted of - considering you'd been taken entirely against your will as punishment for trying and failing to get the Master Chief to defect - but no one had ever mentioned anything of the sort in reports before. It must've been classified information.
"I've never heard of that before. It must be classified." You reply quietly. She frowns and breaks the lock on the door before ushering you inside. There's no paper records here as most had been made electronic when the UNSC had moved to Reach, but she knows where to look. Names of Spartan 2's immediately begin flooding the screens surrounding the command console in the center of the room. "I only get told when I am meant to take out people. Orders are orders. I have to follow them."
And then she asks something that catches you more offguard.
"How does that make you feel?"
Your mouth is poised to reply and yet no words are spoken. It seems that every time someone asks you a question that you are at a loss for words. "I don't feel, Cortana." Your voice is quiet as you stare at her blankly. "I haven't felt anything in a really long time."
You spread your fingers and push your hands outward, which then takes the data from the screens and is displayed around you. Holographic UNSC ships and faces belonging to Spartans you've never met.
Not until one shows up. Sierra-117.
"You know him?"
You want to nod. There is something so achingly familiar about him. "I believe I do, but I don't-" Your expression falls as you move your hand away from his image staring back at you. "I don't know. I don't remember"
"I believe I may have a solution to that." Cortana replies. She's then coming to stand beside you, clearly working with the data and the records available to her, and then you're left looking at an artifact of unknown origin. "Do you know what this is?"
You pause. "I read the briefings. This is what was found on Madrigal."
"Good." Aware of UNSC Spartan deployments and mission briefings. Seemingly unaware of other fellow Spartans. "I want you to see it. Come with me."
You follow her without question. Why would you deny her? She may be able to help you remember who you really are, who he is to you.
And you are desperate enough that following a newly created AI into the belly of the beast feels right.
***
"Tell me again."
You laugh and roll over on the blanket you're both on, pressed comfortably into the floor that sits just beneath the skylight above you. It's one of the only places in the base that you can see stars so clearly. "Tell you what?"
"Your name. It's..." He blushes and tilts his chin up to meet your gaze as you peer down at him. "Beautiful."
"You're so stupidly sentimental."
His eyes snap open. He'd seen more of his childhood this time despite the constant presence of Cortana and Halsey's insistence of using this opportunity to see what interacting with the artifact would do. He had yet to tell anyone about you.
Cortana knew though. John just hadn't realized that yet.
She was beginning to piece together what she'd seen between the two of you so far. John's interaction with the artifact was bringing long hidden memories back to the surface. She was hoping the same thing would happen to you.
There was definitely something unique about you. Not your personality, or how you'd unwillingly become a Spartan, or how there were so many parts of your records that were blurred with black ink. ONI clearly did not want people to know who you were. She needed to know why.
You were someone who had only been a child when they were taken to war. You had provoked something in John that was strictly forbidden, and Halsey had locked away those memories of his fairly early on to prevent any unwarranted emotional responses.
Cortana wouldn't know until she dug deep into the archives how John reacted. It was.. painful. She didn't know what pain looked like, or felt like, until she found the recordings of your augmentation and John's memories of you being stolen.
"The coast is clear, S." You poked your head around the corner as Cortana opened the door only mere moments after Halsey had walked out. You'd been hiding away long enough to completely miss John's departure. "Come inside."
The door slides shut with ease behind you. You remove your helmet and set it to the side, lightly chewing on your lip as Cortana moves to the other side of the room to give you space. "This... It feels familiar." You set your jaw and stand in front of it. When not activated, it simply looks like a hunk of metal. "Like a memory."
"That's wonderful." Cortana replies. "Now if you would.. will you touch it?"
Gloved hands raise and you press your palms hard against the artifact, only for it to come to life in a blaze of blue light and throw you back into something you never thought you'd see again.
Memories.
***
“I love you. I love you, I-“
There’s so much there. So much of it is overwhelming, threatening to suffocate you with how painful it is. There are marines tearing you and John forcibly apart. You’re screaming - there is so much screaming, begging and pleading to let you go - and then there is darkness. Pain. There’s the augmentation and countless hours of non-stop experiments and training you to be the best they could make you.
They could take away your choices, your will to live. They could take away your ability to feel by the pellet insertions and they could take away your ability to form relationships. They’d taken everything that made you you when you became the first Headhunter.
What they hadn’t taken from you was your ability to love. It was deep, barely flickering and trying to remain alive, but it hadn’t been extinguished.
You wrenched yourself away from the object and collided painfully with the wall. It felt like… breathing for the first time again. Like you were understanding things that hadn’t made sense until now.
“S?” Cortana called out warily. “Are you with me?”
The knife you always carried in the sheath attached to your chest plate came loose as you released the strap and wrapped your fingers around the hilt.
“I want this inhibitor out. Now.”
Part 3
#The Master Chief#Sierra-117#The Master Chief x Reader#Sierra 117 x Reader#Halo TV#Halo series#Halo paramount#halo spoilers#halo fanfic#halo fanfiction
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It hurts to love.
Karl heisenberg x male!reader
Tags: Hanahaki and angst
SFW
(Note: In this au, none of the main events happen with ethan, as he is not in this story. Also SPOILER WARNING.)
(Warning: probably shitty plot, but i'm trying my best ok)
[Your pov]
It all started a year or two ago, when mother miranda had found me lurking around the village. As i was not a local, she deemed me suspicous. However, before she had the chance to kill me, She had a spark in her eye. As if she had an idea. And before i knew it she was using me as some sort of vessel for her daughter, Eva. Although i am a male, she had seen something special in me apparently. I had also found out that her daughter had passed away and she was determined to bring her back.
It failed.
The experiment... failed.
I was no longer deemed useful.
She had proposed me two options. become a servant or assistant to one of the lords, or die. A slow, and painful death.
Of course I chose to be an assistant.
She was kind enough to let me choose who to work for, thankfully.
Lady dimitrescu was very much intimidating. And from what I've heard, if you mess up even just a little while working for her, you will be sent to the dungeons. Never to be seen again. And she isnt really fond of men, so I wont be choosing her.
Next up was Donna Beneviento. She was nice, although her doll 'Angie' is a little... how do I say this... creepy. It doesnt help that i have a huge fear of mannequins and dolls, so I dont think i'll be choosing her anytime soon.
And then theres Salvatore Moreau, dont get me wrong he's a great guy but.. he might accidentally drown me. I might be overreacting, but the guy smells. Although, I feel bad that he's treated so poorly by the other Lords, but i think it's for the best if i stay away from him.
And.. i guess my only option left is Lord Heisenberg. I just hope that he wont be that much of a hassle, even if he IS kind of an asshole...
A day before i start working at the factory, Mother Miranda forced us to spend the day together. To 'get to know eachother' I assume.
Lord Heisenberg looked pissed off, he wasn't really fond of me. He was more pissed off at Mother miranda though. Most likely because he was forced to spend time with me. I quickly learned what he called the 'basics of him'. Basically, common facts. Such as, the fact that he can bend metal and his deep hatred for Mother Miranda. that was basically all that he told me.
The following day was my first day at the factory. As we were walking along the factory, he stopped in his tracks. "Listen pup, there's rules." He practically growled. "First of all, Don't touch my shit. Second of all, don't go around the factory without me knowing. And third of all, Don't try to get to know me, we're keeping a proffessional relationship, got it?" He said.
"Uh.. y-yes Lord Heisenberg." I very nervously stammered, lightly blushing at the nickname he gave me.
"Good, now let's get to work."
Present day
That was around a year or two ago, and while i have gotten closer to the other lords, i never managed to get to get close to Lord Heisenberg. And..
I'm an idiot who fell for him... And... I know he'll never feel the same way. I've tried getting his attention, impressing him, but... nothing's working. Every time i try to get close to him, wether it's emotionally or physically. I get pushed away, literally and figuratively.
It's my fault really. I fell inlove with a man who was emotionally closed off. His charisma, his voice, everything about him just makes me fall more and more inlove with him.
I know i wont have a chance, hell, i dont even know if he's into guys... Guess i really am an idiot, huh?
Later that day, Lord Heisenberg asked me to help him with something. I agreed of course, and during that time I tried to know him more. "Jesus christ, are you trying to get me to open up or something? Cause' that's not gonna happen, so give it up." He spat out, "a-ah... sorry Lord Heisenberg.." I stammered out.
A few minutes of silence pass. Suddenly, he grabbed my hands. "I- ugh.. Just- you're doing it wrong. Here, let me help." He said, while holding my hands 'teaching me how to do it right'.
Of course my face started heating up, the feeling of his slightly roughed up hands on mine... it feels nice. Although this is probably the only time i'll ever get close to him.
"Hey pet, you ok? Geez, you're practically as red as a tomato." He said, while still holding my hands. "Uh.. y-yeah..! Uhm... i.. i'm good.." i stuttered, feeling his breath on top of my head. He was bigger and taller than me after all.
"Well, whatever you say, pup." He shrugged as he continued his work. I got a little flustered on the nickname, i never got used to that..
After, he went and ordered me to get supplies fron the duke.
As i was walking along the pathway to the duke, a few lycans were following me. They didnt seem to be attacking, so i just left them alone. However when i reached the duke, the lycans were gone. How strange.
"Well well well, if it isn't Heisenbergs pet! What brings you here, young man?" He says, with a shit eating grin. "Ah.. well, i'm just here for some supplies is al-" i was then cut off with a series of coughs, "Oh my, are you alright?" said the duke, genuinely concerned. "O-oh i'm fine i ju-" i was then cut off by another series of coughs, but just when i stopped, a small white flower petal came out of my mouth.
"Oh dear, i hope this isn't what i think it is... Are you sure you are alright?" Asked the duke. "I.. i dont know," i pause and look at the small flower petal in my hand. "do you know what's happening..?" I questioned him, very much confused. "It may be something called the 'Hanahaki disease'. It was said to just be an urban legend. Where, if you were suffering from unrequited love, you would begin to cough up flower petals." He explained. "I didnt think it was real.." he muttered to himself.
"..." i was silent as i stared in shock and horror, I'm.. coughing up flowers..? Like actual, real flowers...?
From.. unrequited love.... i should've known, i... i should've known that he would never feel the same way.
How could i be so stupid, to think he would fall for a mere mortal like me. Or atleast.. i think i'm mortal. "Well," the duke spoke up, "luckily there are two ways you can get rid of the sickness." My eyes lit up, "the person you like, either loves you back," he continued "or, you can get surgery. Not only will it remove the flowers, it also removes all of your feelings for this particullar person permanently."
"Th-that's great! I can finally get this 'hanahaki' disease while also getting rid of my feelings for him-!"
"Him?" The duke asked as he cut me off, "do you mean Lord Heisenberg?"
"Uh-" as i think about him, i start coughing again. This time, blood was spilling over. And so were many petals. "Oh dear.. so just the mere thought of him triggers it..?" He said, concerned. "Uh... i'll just... take the supplies. Thank you though, duke."
"No problem, stay safe. But remember, the longer you wait around with the flowers still inside you, the worse your state will become." He informs me,
"I'll try to get the surgery as fast as possible duke." I said, waving him goodbye.
As soon as i walked out, those same lycans followed me all the way back to the factory. Strange isn't it? Anyway, when you finally arrived at the factory, supplies in hand, I hear Lord Heisenberg open up the door.
"Here, let me help you with those." He says as he starts taking some of the bags.
"...Why are you being so nice all of a su-sudden?" I stammer as i try to hold in a cough. "Would you rather not have me nice, pup?" he growled. As i opened my mouth to speak, i was interrupted but a fit of coughs. Blood spilt out as did the petals. Heisenberg didn't seem to notice as he was already far ahead.
I try to cover it up as much as i can as i try to catch up with him. "Jeez.. Finally, you caught up-" he cut himself off. "Why is there blood on your face?" He said, slightly concerned. I froze. "Uh.." that was all i could say. "Whatever.." he said as he wiped the blood away from my face. A faint blush spread accross my cheeks.
I excused myself to the bathroom as i felt another fit of coughs. More blood splattered out as well as more petals. God it hurts. I heard a knock on the door. "Hey pet, you've been there a while, you sure you're alright?" He said
"Uh- yeah, i-i'm fine..!" I said, trying to hold in my coughs. "Well just make it quick, we have work to do." "Yes sir..!" I reply back quickly, not wanting to upset him. I quickly cleaned myself up and walked out of the bathroom. "Took you long enough." He sighed, annoyed. He went ahead and grabbed his hammer, dragging it along the metal floors. It was loud enough for him to not hear you cough up more petals.
~later that week~
My condition kept getting worse and worse, to the point i was barely able to breath. I've consulted the duke, however nothing seemed to work. No matter how much medicine, herbs or other medicinal items i jammed into my body, it just won't go away.
I was asked to come over Lady Dimitrescus castle, i'm not exactly sure why. Maybe she heard of this 'hanahaki' disease?
As i make my way to the castle, lycans started to follow me. Even more than before, why was this happening?
I finally arrive at the castle, the lycans seem to be watching me very carefully. I hear the doors open, and out came a tall lady. "Ah, Y/N! I'm glad you came! Come in." She said, holding the door open for me.
I walked in and was immediately tackled with a hug. "Uncle Y/N! You came!" Exclamed Daniela, one of Lady Dimitrescus daughters. "Oh, uh... hello Daniela." I say, hugging back. I never imagined them to warm up to me. "Now now Daniela, me and your Uncle Y/N have something to discuss."
"Aww man... well, i'll see you around Uncle Y/N!" She waved goodbye to me. "I'll see you around, Daniela." I say as i wave back. As soon as her footsteps were no longer in range, i spoke up. "So.. what did you want to talk about..?" I carefully asked the tall woman, not wanting to be sliced to bits. "Well, as i said before, the duke has informed me of something related to your wellbeing."
"So... you've heard about this.. 'hanahaki' disease, i assume...?" I say as i tense up even more. "The duke told me about it, and when i asked why he was informing me about this, he simply stated it had something to do with you. So tell me, do you have it?" She asked me with a concerned expression.
"W-well.. I-.." i say, sighing. "Yes, as far as i know." I reply, not wanting to lie to her. "As much as i dislike that wretched man, Heisenberg, i must ask, is he the object of your affection?" I froze. "Well... uh-" i cut myself off as i break into a fit of coughs growing more and more violent than the last. "Oh dear- MAIDS!" She called out, panicking, as blood and petals fall out of my mouth. She patted my back as i continue to cough. "So... it is Heisenberg.. I am terribly sorry Y/N i did not know this would happen.." she said, apologetically.
"I-it's alright-" i break into another fit of coughs. But instead of petals, this time, there were fully grown flowers. "i.. i can't b-breath.." i say almost blacking out. The last thing i see and hear are the maids, Lady Dimitrescu shouting to get the duke, and the door opening to reveal... Lord Heisenberg..? "Goddammit, out of my way-!" Was the last thing i heard before blacking out.
•
•
°
.
.....
I woke up to the duke. I sat upright, "what... happ-" i was then cut off by the duke. "You're awake! Honestly, i.. didnt know if you would wake up.." he said sadly. "Thankfully, i was able to patch you up just fine. And after days and hours of research, i finally found an alternative to your hanahaki!" The duke said, switching from a sad, to a cheerful mood.
My eyes light up, "W-wait, really!?" I said as a smile creeps up on my face. The duke gives me a small bottle, "Here, take this. Free of charge!" He said as he smiles brightly. "Now, you should drink it as soon as possible. Lord Heisenberg is waiting for you outside."
"I will, thank you duke!" I said as i waved him goodbye. As I walked to the gates, I take the small bottle and drink it. Within seconds, the flowers were gone. I could finally breath again!
Walking out with a small smile, I saw Lord Heisenberg. "Oh, hey-!.. uh.. i mean, hey. You're awake, lets... get back to the factory..." he stammered out.
..
Was it just me, or were there tears on his face..?
The walk to the factory was silent, but as we walk up to the factory gates, he stops dead in his tracks. "Before we go in, I just uh.. wanted to let you know that the duke let me know about how you really felt about me." He said. "And.. after a long time of thinking about it.." he cuts himself off as his cheeks turn red,
"...I like you too." He confesses.
But,
I don't feel any different.
I don't have butterflies in my stomach.
I don't even feel my face heating up.
It was like...
I was never inlove with him in the first place.
"I... I'm sorry, Lord Heisenberg... but.. I dont feel the same way anymore. I think... it was that small bottle the duke gave me, but.. I am sorry, i don't feel the same way." "W-wait.. you're.. you're joking, right...?" I watch as his expression goes from flustered to heartbreak. "..." i grow silent.
"Let's... let's get inside... we'll catch a cold if we don't." I say, opening the doors to the factory, not wanting the situation to get more awkward. "...Y... yeah... just, gimme a minute.." he says as his voice was slightly shaking. "Alright.. just... please be quick, you'll get a cold." I said, walking in and closing the door on him.
[Heisenbergs pov]
"I... I'm sorry, Lord Heisenberg... but.. I dont feel the same way anymore. I think... it was that small bottle the duke gave me, but.. I am sorry, i don't feel the same way."
"W-wait.. you're.. you're joking, right...?" I say with my voice slightly shaking. Dammit.. god... fucking...
DAMMIT...!
Just when i thought i finally found the love of my life, he's stripped away from me.
"..." he was silent.
I could feel the heartbreak slowly filling me up.
"Let's... let's get inside... we'll catch a cold if we don't."
"...Y... yeah... just, gimme a minute.." i stammer while i try not to break down infront of him.
"Alright.. just... please be quick, you'll get a cold." He says, as he walks in and shuts the door. Heh.. it's cute how he still worries about me when..
Nevermind.
I need some time to thi-
My thoughts were interrupted when i started to violently cough. What i didn't expect though...
Was a flower petal.
"..."
"Heh..."
"So this is what he felt." I said, as i look at the bloody flower petal in my hand.
#karl heisenberg x you#heisenberg x male reader#heisenberg x reader#angst#hanahaki#hanahaki disease#assistant
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that nalby hc 😭😭😭😭 (from the tags of that other post which im too lazy to copy sjdjsj)
the post, for those curious
yes bc like!! the "He's in charge when I'm not around" "good thing you're always around then" bit from the movies--it's always read more as teasing than Newt, like, actually caring about leading.
And in the books, sure, Alby is the 'on-paper' offical leader, but we know he's not been doing it long, and Newt is clearly more experienced with Greenies. (If you haven't read Fever Code and don't want spoilers, skip this next part. If you don't care, then continue on. Also, Newt’s suicide attempt is discussed, both here and a little later.) It’s revealed in Fever Code that Newt’s suicide attempt is not too long before Thomas enters the Maze--only about 6 months, compared to the time Newt has been there.
(If you skipped you're good now)
Newt was a Runner, right? But obviously something changed, and he can’t run very well with a limp, something that's noted more than once by Thomas. So Newt becomes a jack-of-all-trade (starts Thomas each day with his trial runs, helps the medjacks with Ben, etc), learns the ins and outs of the Glade, helps out with Greenies where he can. He gives the motivational/you're-here-so-make-the-best-of-it speech where Alby only gets angry, at which point Newt pulls him back so he doesn't scare Thomas (the first Greenie since the last leader, Nick, died. Yes, I have the book open rn. I have some of it memorized but I want to be thorough lol. probably more so than I need to be). Alby doesn't have his footing as a leader yet--Gally doesn't like Thomas, so all of their interactions are colored negatively anyway, but he also seems not to exactly respect Alby as a leader. Minho affords Alby some respect but also just... doesn't really care about the chain of command. We don't know if the Keepers voted, but Newt is both well-liked and clearly has a handle on running the Glade. Why wouldn’t he be picked, in such a scenario?
Unless he took himself from the running because he realized that yes, he can lead, but being well-liked and being respected are different things, and his authority seem to come mostly from the Gladers listening to him because they like him.
That's where Alby comes in. Presumably a Keeper (though what he did is never made clear), and probably worked with Nick-- maybe even as his second-in-command--before his death, but not handling the Glade in the way Newt does.
Newt suggests he becomes the leader, takes himself out of the running, and they listen to Newt and make Alby leader.
Newt, who knows the ins and outs of everything, who is good at talking boys down and bouncing around where he's needed, gets to keep doing that.
And Alby is really thrown into overseeing everything; Greenies, the Box requests, what needs to be built and repaired more urgently, all of that stuff. He would have known it was done, but actually making the decisions is very different from just knowing about them.
But they start dating long before Thomas comes to the Glade, right?
Yeah. They do. Alby is the one who drags Newt of the Maze, they were already close. But working together doesn't always work out. Now working more closely after Newt’s attempt, they start butting heads more, and their whole relationship seems to fall apart, until they realize they're trying to do the same job, and one of them is just better suited for it than the other.
Don't get me wrong, Alby is great. He’s an asshole, yes, but they all are, really. Especially compared to Newt, though, people don't seem to be his strong suit. So they work it out that Alby mostly does logistics stuff, and Newt deals with people.
They're both leaders, and they work so well together because they're different types of leaders. Once they stop fighting-as-flirting arguing over everything, they figure out a system and slowly realize there are Feelings there. (Newt makes the first move, and this surprises no one.)
By the time Thomas reaches the Glade, hell, by the time Chuck gets there their relationship is an open secret. They're not very affectionate publicly as to keep the appearance of neutrality, but everyone knows anyway. They were on the edge of 'are we friends or are we dating' before this, anyway, but it was working together that pushed it over the edge.
tl;dr: Newt and Alby are both leaders in very different ways, Newt on the people side and Alby on the logistics side. They figured this out after Newt’s suicide attempt and clashed for a while before things finally clicked into place. After that, they eventually started dating sometime before Chuck was sent into the Maze.
#newt#alby#nalby#never thought I'd write a nalby thinkpiece but ig i have more thoughts on them than i realized#thomas#minho#chuck#tea#nalby relationship development#this wasn't supposed to be this long#but it is! so like#enjoy it!#ask box#suicide cw#newt's suicide attempt#tmr
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@justbeingedgy
@weird-colombian-gurl
You asked me to elaborate on the "Ches already has a kid" theory in the notes of that one mf analysis post (which I really liked, go check it out!!), so that's why I'm making this one, cuz notes are a bit too restricting for what I want to talk about!
Though next time think twice before asking me to talk about something I'm interested in, because you never know when you're gonna wake up lovecraftian horrors!! :DDD you'll see what i mean when you press read more :))
So, I'll say it right now - this post is largely inspired by the second story highlight of this Instagram user (sorry, I don't know their name, only that their Instagram handle is dee_girl_metalfamilyfan), it's in Russian though, so keep that in mind
Alright, so I'll break this theory into two parts: the first one will be all about Ches, and the second will be about his potential child (spoiler: you might've seen her!)
Without any further ado, let's get to the Ches part:
1. The creators said that they're gonna explore Ches' character in the second season. Obviously, it doesn't mean anything on it's own, but just wait.
Dima: Let's talk about the second season a little. Of course, the seconds season will show development of the old characters, as well as new ones. That's in short. As you see, Ches looks a bit different here.
Alina: Yeah, we'll show a bit more about Ches at the ages of 18 to 20. His past. We'll reveal a bit more about his complex character, as much as it's possible.
(The source of the translation)
Also I think they also said at one point that adult Ches will get some character development too? But that's probably a given, considering that we wouldn't see his youth if it wouldn't have affected him in the present, flashbacks without any relevance to the overall story don't sound so good
2. Not sure about this one (we don't know how much in character it was) but I can't not mention it.
Alina: Actually there was this one fanfic that I really liked. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was about Ches having a daughter, which is a cool topic. It was relatively in character and truly interesting. It’s great when people focus not just on sexual relationships of the characters, but also try to look at their development. That was a really interesting one. That’s it.
(UnityCon '19)
3. This one's a pretty big one, in my opinion. So, this is what they said on ArtWave '19:
Dima: Ches also has flaws.
Alina: [to Dima] Don’t spoil stuff.
Dima: His flaw is that he's very... irresponsible, let’s say.
So, maybe, just maybe, Ches does have a child but he, you know... left them? As the Instagram highlight from the beginning say: "he might be irresponsible enough to leave his child, and he's probably irresponsible enough not to use any contraception" (rephrased, not the exact quote)
4. Alright, so, the only mention of this one I can think of right now is the aforementioned Instagram highlight. The Metalfamilyfan says:
I contacted Korg/Корж, (admin of @ metal_yama [and I believe one of the organizers of the Metal Family Meetup in Moscow]) and she asked Alina on one of the meetups: "if Ches were to be a father, what kind of father would he be?"
And she said: "The kind of that would say "kid, look at that birdie over there!" an then he would run away"
Someone's words are not the perfect source, but they did tag Metal Yama and from what I know they didn't disagree with what the author of the page said. if anyone has anything to say about this (disprove or definitely prove what I said) feel free to do so in a reblog, notes, DMs, send me an anonymous ask, or in any other way you feel comfortable with
5. Ches has literally been through the same thing, and we know how important the theme of the cycle of abuse is in Metal Family (or, in this case, the cycle of neglect? Abandonment? Idk)
You managed to hide your PREGNANCY from me! AND you've been hiding the child from me for a whole year!
YES, because you would've insisted on aborting him!
AND NOW I'M INSISTING ON PUTTING HIM UP FOR ADOPTION! OR I'LL LEAVE RIGHT NOW!
6. Here we can see Ches with a blonde girl. Nothing too special, probably just a one time hook up. He doesn't seem to be interested in her, and she seems to be annoyed with him.
But wait...
What is this?
Like, it doesn't even matter if there's actually a punk/rock/whatever band named MOM or not, I just think it's pretty weird to put it in this particular drawing of Ches and this random woman who is implied to have slept with him. It's not integral to Ches' character as, for example, Korol i Shut is. It's just... there. For some reason.
------------
Alright, now, finally let's get to the second part of the theory: who is, exactly, his child?
The short answer is, according to this theory, her:
First, let me list every single instance of her appearing in canon (and by canon I mean everything made by the creators. Even with this definition of canon it's not much, I promise):
The screenshot you can see above on the left (it's a screenshot from the second season and it appeared here), an instagram story posted by Alina (above, right), and two drawing with a lot of characters where you can spot the girl which I'm gonna call her PinkHair or PH for short, I'll mention them later
I feel like I should mention this, comparing the sources of the images and the dates when they were posted, it's safe to assume that the screenshot in the classroom has the latest and final version of her design. The red hair most likely doesn't mean anything
1. Alright. So. we've seen Dee and PinkHair in a classroom together, so they're most likely related in some way, or at least they know each other. Their exact relationship doesn't matter here, because all that matters here is that they're related story-wise
Let's look at the first image. This is the banner of the main Metal Family channel. Ches is near Heavy (they get along quite well and I'm sure Heavy aspires to be like Ches in many ways), Dee (we can see his classmates/friends near him, they're all about his age), and we can see people related to Glam on the left side of the image (including Ches!), and Vicky's - on the right side (notice how the hell sign is also there)
Now, I'm not absolutely sure about this one, but it's still kind of weird - look at the image on the right (it's from ArtWave 2021 btw) - wouldn't it make more sense to put PinkHair near Dee? Also, Curiously enough, not only is she not close to Dee on this image, but she's also standing next to Ches.
Though this whole thing could be explained by art theory (too many small things in one corner of your drawing isn't great composition wise lol sorry PH) but I still can't quite skip this point
2. Remember the "MOM" lady? Fun fact, she has the exact same pearl earring that PinkHair has on the screenshot.
3. I'll put all similarities with her supposed parents in this point:
Mother:
* She's also pretty uh.. glam? for the lack of a better word? Or feminine in a traditional sense, yeah I think that's a better way to put it. Like colors they prefer to wear for example, and jewelry. Characters like that aren't common in Metal Family
* She's gotta be a blonde. I can't imagine her being anything but blonde. If she manages to maintain that hair color as a brunette I'm just straight up assuming her character arc is gonna be killing God because these kind of people are capable of anything. I fear them with every fiber of my being.
* I can't say for sure because of the shading, but it seems like they both have gray eyes, and she also has darker skin compared to most MF characters. Though, it's likely that Mom just applied a lot of fake tan
Ches:
* We know that Ches for sure has darker skin
* AND grey eyes
* There's also some possible personality similarities but I'm not sure if you can compare a child to a parent they've never really known in this way
That's about it, I suppose, I hope there isn't that many grammar mistakes and logically unfinished parts and whatnot in this post I forgot to edit lol x)
I'm not sure how to end this post other than to remind you guys that almost all the points in this posts are inspired by the "тупая теория" highlight on the dee_girl_metalfamilyfan's Instagram page, so go check them out and subscribe, they post Dee x The Quest Girl fanart and and always credit the artists. Without them this post would be much, much shorter.
Thanks for reading this post, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on this post <3
#i tried to organize this but#yeah#also damn i hope PH's mother isn't in the same situation as Ches' :'(#at one point i misspelled parent in the context of ches as paren't and now i can't stop giggling like an idiot#these tags have completely different moods to them because I wrote them at different points in time btw#paren't#heh heh#metal family#metal family ches#metal family pinkhair#this seems like it's made up but if words end in ent or ant or something like that sometimes i automatically put an ' in without thinking
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Analyzing the writing of Eagles
Here's a post I've been wanting to make for a while! I've expressed my thoughts on some of the storylines in previous posts, but I've never done a complete post on the writing of the whole show.
I've divided this post into separate parts, focusing on each season and its plot points. Keep reading to see my analysis of the writing in Eagles! 👇
Word Count: 18k
If you've stumbled upon this post from the Young Royals or the Beartown tag (tagged them since I've drawn some parallels from those shows), here's a brief summary of what Eagles is, which you can watch with English subtitles here. This post contains Eagles spoilers from 1x01 - 3x10.
Eagles is a Swedish TV show that revolves around a few teenagers living in the Swedish ice hockey town Oskarshamn while experiencing friendship, love, and rivalry on the ice.
To start this off I would like to say that I have no experience with professional screenwriting and if anything, this is just a way for me to procrastinate on actually writing my own projects.
I love experiencing new stories and when I discover one I really like it's just natural for me to branch off with "what ifs" and to start wondering how the story would've turned out if some things were changed. Sometimes it's with a storyline improvement in mind, and other times it's just out of plain curiosity.
You might feel like this post is leaning towards the critical side, and I can definitely understand why since there are a lot of small details that I've picked apart from all seasons. I added a section for each season with things that I thought were really well done so this post wouldn't be too negative.
I actually did enjoy all seasons and I feel like the quality of not just the writing but every single thing has steadily increased each year.
Season 1: Tropes and clichés
Eagles premiered its first season in 2019 and was, despite many negative reviews, a big success among its target audience. Every episode on SVT Play amassed around 700 000–800 000 views and there didn't seem to be any doubt that the show would get renewed.
What the critics had issues with were that "Eagles rarely takes the unexpected path, and feels like a slightly soulless product of studied target group thinking a little too often," (Karolina Fjellborg in Aftonbladet) and "In Eagles, the characters seem to be locked in the role of a "teenager" but the humanity is missing. They've simplified the construction of the character," (Django Lorentzson in MovieZine).
Eagles was unfortunate enough to constantly be compared to SKAM in its infancy, and that's a tough comparison to live up to. SVT sort of shot themselves in the foot as they were the ones who contributed to it. While the show was still in the casting process, SVT wrote an article hyping the show up as a Swedish SKAM (which has since been edited, but led many to falsely believe that it would involve all the familiar SKAM characters with some hockey elements sprinkled in).
So, why exactly did critics think the first three episodes of the show were predictable and soulless? Well, it's pretty simple. They'd seen it all before. The setting, the characters, the storylines—just in different TV shows and movies.
Season 1 for me is nostalgic and very enjoyable despite its clichéd nature. I also felt like I'd seen the show before due to its generic storylines, but there is a reason why tropes are tropes and why clichés are clichés. It's because they're tried and true, and actually somewhat good writing tools as long as you expand on them. The keyword here is to expand—a story doesn't magically become good simply because you mimic something another writer has done. Tropes are fine to use but you can't just apply them and stop there. Everything in a story needs to be developed in order to be good.
It's safe to say that it's pretty much impossible to write a story without any tropes that have been used before. Striving to avoid clichés at all costs in hopes of making your story as original as possible is harder than it sounds, and almost impossible to boot. Here's a great piece of advice for aspiring writers written by a user on Carvezine:
[...] if you look down at your story and are worried it’s already been told before – don’t spend another second thinking about it. It has. A million times. The only difference is that it hasn’t been told by you. Accept that regurgitation is part of writing, and just do your best not to regurgitate the same way as the guy next to you. We’d all do well to acknowledge there is at least a portion of our stories that are really someone else’s.
[...] Beyond that, write with the motivation that if you don’t get around to telling your story, eventually somebody else will.
Even the greatest books have storylines with some clichés. And that's not really a bad thing, either. Think about it. How many times have you decided to binge a TV show solely because it reminded you of another series? Or picked up a book simply because you love a good enemies to lovers romance, a battle between good and evil fantasy, or whatever it might be?
I found this article from Masterclass that perfectly describes what tropes are and why they're used. It's written from the perspective of novel writing but it is still applicable.
A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it’s seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world. Tropes are popular for a reason—if something has been written about over and over again, there’s a good chance that it’s something readers enjoy reading!
Tropes can be helpful, but a novel made up only of tropes will quickly start to feel stale and predictable to readers. That’s why you need to read up on tropes—and then innovate. Deliberately taking a favorite trope and turning it on its head is a great way to put your own unique spin on the genre and keep your readers interested.
Eagles, in its first season, didn't really do a lot of expanding upon the tropes they used and it's understandable that they were still trying to find their footing. I can also imagine it's difficult to do so when you only have eight 20 minute episodes in the season.
However... There definitely should've been more work put into these characters to make them their own. It's tricky, yes, but still achievable if you don't abandon them in their cookie-cutter form and try to actually decorate them with something unique and fresh.
So, how did they write their characters?
Felicia's character and backstory
To start off, Felicia is a famous influencer known for starring in a reality show next to her former NHL professional father. There's already a clear disconnect because it's hard to relate to a character with such a public past and large following. But it is 100% possible if you let the viewer know the character has humane qualities just like the person watching the show.
Look at Wilhelm from Netflix's Young Royals, another Swedish TV show. Wilhelm is the prince of Sweden, set to attend a prestigious elite boarding school, and is the heir to the throne. That doesn't exactly sound like a relatable scenario, does it? And yet the writers make it work because when we're introduced to Wilhelm we realize he's just like everybody else. He wants a normal life, he latches on to his older brother for support, he has anxiety, and he struggles between following his heart versus doing what his family is expecting him to do. A lot of these factors are relatable among the audience.
So, let's look at Felicia Kroon. She is in many ways portrayed as the main character of the show. Eagles starts off with her family having moved to Oskarshamn and the following episodes focus on her developing relationship with Ludde as well as her traumatic past. There's almost too much focus on Felicia here, and I'll get back to that.
Comparing Felicia to Wilhelm from Young Royals, they're both well-known teenagers with famous parents. Of course they have different circumstances considering Felicia is Instagram popular and Wilhelm is a blood royal, but in the grand scheme of things they're similar. Felicia is even referred to as a "Kroon princess" because of her last name Kroon bearing a resemblance to the Swedish word kronprinsessa, meaning crown princess.
The students of their respective schools treat their attendance as a big deal when they first arrive and then Wilhelm and Felicia start spending time with the "popular" crowd despite not really fitting in there.
I personally found it easy to relate to Wilhelm but difficult to relate to Felicia. Some people may feel differently, but her character is basically a popular party girl who attracts the attention of one of the school's star players and is "welcomed" by the popular crowd on her first day of school. I put welcome in quotation marks because Klara, the leader of the girl group, isn't exactly the most welcoming person but she does welcome Felicia to the school. My point is, Felicia doesn't have a lot of relatable traits in the first episodes.
Felicia then goes on a date with the guy she's met, Ludde. Okay, so there haven't been that many layers to her character yet. We're at the third episode and so far she's been kind of flat.
Near the end of the third episode, we get some depth to the character and we hear her back story.
Felicia: [...] We don’t have a good relationship, my dad and I. And that’s probably why we moved from the beginning, because he’s an idiot. We’ve never been close, but… Elias and he have been since they’ve had hockey. [...] And mom has been really involved, so… And I… They’ve never really cared about me. And… And I haven’t really been a problem either. I’ve had good grades, good friends, and… I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t talk about it to people.
[...] I just felt so fucking lonely and invisible. I was worried all the time, couldn’t sleep, panicked because I couldn’t sleep… So I started going out more. It went overboard. It started affecting school, my grades slipped… I started taking things to be able to concentrate. Everybody does stuff like that. And then I still couldn’t sleep, so… I started mixing with sleeping pills. And there’s always wine and booze at our place. I don’t want this to come out, that’s really important.
Ludde: Of course, I’d never tell.
Felicia: One night, something happened that made me… Act out of control more than usual. I woke up the next morning in the hospital. So they sent me to rehab. It was really rough for mom and dad that I was suddenly in focus. When I woke up, dad wasn’t even there.
Ludde: What made you take too much that night?
Felicia: I’d forgotten my phone at home, so I ran up and got it while my friends were waiting in an Uber. Then I came into the hall and I heard noises. You know, like, when somebody is doing it.
Ludde: Okay.
Felicia: And I thought it was really weird because mom wasn’t home. So I went into the living room… Dad was fucking my mom’s best friend. On the rug below the couch.
This gives Felicia more layers and does separate her from every other "popular pretty party girl" trope that you see on TV. But this is a huge info dump, and that's a problem. I would've liked to see this happen on-screen instead of only being told what went down. The golden rule of Show don't tell, as people like to say.
Show, don’t tell is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition. It fosters a style of writing that’s more immersive for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters.
In his most commonly repeated quote, Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass."
This back story could've been more impactful that way if, perhaps, the show began with Felicia in a hospital bed with a strong headache and hazy flashbacks of that night where she saw her dad sleeping with another woman. Then we're introduced to her mother and brother sitting next to the hospital bed tired and worried, and Felicia notices her dad isn't present. They tell her Felicia is being sent to rehab and then there's a time-jump before we see the Kroon family having moved to Oskarshamn.
That's just an idea I threw together at the top of my head, but you get my point. It would've been more interesting if we knew from the beginning that Felicia had a traumatic past like this, leading the viewer to want to know more about what actually happened.
We did get a brief flashback at the very beginning of the show—we see Felicia partying with her friends and taking some pill before lying unconscious on the ground. There's also a glimpse of Ludde's car accident with Andreas yelling at him to get out of there.
That segment only lasts for around 45 seconds and it's easily forgettable upon your first viewing of the show. It's also hard to even recognize Felicia in the dark nightclub setting with the flashing lights. Some dialogue in that short scene could've made it more memorable, because I found that when I first watched season 1 I remembered Andreas yelling at Ludde despite that being drowned out by the music.
Ludde's backstory was way more well-done, in my opinion. We see him having crashed the car and bleeding from his head. He looks terrified and almost frozen by fear, needing to be pulled out of the car by a panicked Andreas yelling at him to bring Ludde back to the reality of the situation. We see Andreas yelling and pointing, telling Ludde he needs to run now. It's more powerful when we get to see it.
And in episode 8, when we learn the truth of what happened, it's not a long and dragged-out monologue. It fits into what's going on in the story. Felicia and Ludde have known each other for a few months now and are much closer than they were on their first date. They've had disagreements and fights, but at this moment they're in a good place.
And it feels like the right moment for Ludde to come clean about what happened to him.
Ludde: Hey… There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.
Felicia: What?
Ludde: About… My brother. It’s not really as everybody thinks.
Felicia: What do you mean?
Ludde: That night when he crashed… It wasn’t Andreas who drove the car. We were on our way home from one of his buddies. We’d had some fun drinking. And then… I’d just started learning how to drive. So I nagged and nagged at him.
Felicia: So you were the one driving? But he’s an adult-
Ludde: He was drunk as hell. He was going to leave the car, but I thought it was so cold and it was only three blocks away so I thought that I could drive.
Felicia: And what happened?
Ludde: It was slippery and really dark… And a car came. I hit the brakes in time, but it… Yeah. Right after he pushed me out of the car and yelled that I should run home straight away. He really didn’t want me to get into trouble. So, yeah… It was fucking bad luck. I want to just gather everybody and scream that it was me.
Felicia: Hey… I love you.
Ludde: I love you too. I love you so fucking much.
As Ludde is telling Felicia what happened as the other car came, we see a silent flashback of it along with Ludde's voice narrating. We see Andreas pulling him out of the car and yelling. Cutting to this scene that we've already seen in the beginning but might've forgotten about is a smart choice and makes the story Ludde is telling more real. We see it unfolding as Ludde is telling this to Felicia. It's a powerful scene.
We then see Felicia hugging Ludde from behind, a sign of support with no words needed. She tells him she loves him and Ludde says it back. It's an honest and sweet moment that comes at a perfect time in the story. It's not too early like Felicia's backstory was.
I sort of understand why Felicia's backstory was info-dumped because it was right before the drama of Mats accidentally spilling the beans to Klara's family. They wanted the audience to know what happened to her early, so they could move on to the plot point of Felicia thinking Ludde was the one who told everybody.
But we don't need every single detail of Felicia's story. Let it come organically. The only thing that was really needed was for Ludde to know that Felicia had struggled with drug use and was sent to rehab for this storyline to work. The reason why could've been saved for later, and it would've made for a more interesting reveal. Maybe just have Felicia allude to seeing something that night, but don't tell the viewers right away what it was.
In 1x06, Felicia is incredibly upset when she hears that her dad was the one who told Klara's family what happened to Felicia in the US. And rightly so.
Felicia: Don’t you get it? You ruined everything!
Mats: What?
Felicia: You told the whole damn town about me! About the US!
Mats: I really didn’t mean to disclose you- Or disclose us. Sorry. Hey, sorry. Flisan, please. Hey.
Felicia: Did you tell them you fucked mom’s best friend too? Yes, I saw you.
If this had been the moment where we first find out what Felicia saw, it would've been more surprising. Our reaction would've mirrored Mats's, and it would've been more heart-wrenching to know that Felicia was traumatized by an affair her dad had only to be cheated on herself in the very same episode.
Ludde's problematic nature
One of the scriptwriters of Eagles, Fanny Ekstrand, was interviewed in the behind-the-scenes documentary Edvins Skådisdrömmar. In this interview, she states:
Ludvig, he's the one who's been the easiest to retain the personality of. Because he's so... He's calm and friendly, but he makes dumb decisions. Ludvig isn't a typical hockey guy. He has a bunch of other qualities—music being one of them.
I found myself slightly disagreeing with this take, despite knowing Ekstrand is literally a part of the writing team and most likely helped shaped Ludde's personality. I just interpreted Ludde's character (at least in season 1) differently.
I also didn't find him that much different from any other typical hockey guy just because he happens to have another interest. That's a bit like saying Archie Andrews from The CW's Riverdale isn't a stereotypical jock because he also plays the guitar.
In season 1, we see Ludde break into the rink because he wanted to test out the ice. He just loves hockey that much. He also uses it as a way to express frustration and anger, which we saw in 1x05. He flirts with the new girl in school and in the beginning he even uses it as a tactic to gain a position on the main hockey team. This was confirmed by the creator Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A, where he said:
My idea has always been that Ludde was blown away by Felicia and that he really likes her but that they both initially interacted and met to go swimming because Felicia knew it would piss her dad off and Ludde knew that it might throw Elias off since they were competing for the same position in the team.
I would say that the characteristics of a typical hockey guy would be someone like Adam—obsessed with the sport, flirting with girls, going to parties, and just spending a lot of time in the rink. Ludde checks off all of these points. However, I will give this the benefit of the doubt since season 2 Ludde seems to change a lot and it's easier to interpret him as the calm and friendly guy he was supposed to be in season 1.
So to me, Ludde wasn't calm and friendly at all. In season 2, yes, but when we're first introduced to him?
Ludde shows anger issues and violent tendencies in 1x05 when he head-butts Elias and breaks his nose. It's violent and messy. He then yells at Felicia to leave when she's trying to communicate with him and belittles her drug problems solely because she's rich. To me, Ludde wasn't a nice person in 1x04 either when he let his friends make suggestive comments about Felicia and what she was like in bed.
Omar: I can tell you one thing - you’re not borrowing my towel today cause I don’t know where that dick has been.
Adam: It’s nice when she sucks, right?
Omar: Can’t you tell us some more, does she bite you or is it just really, really nice?
[...]
Adam: Is that what you sound like when you’re coming? What does she sound like?
This was described as "locker room talk" and the writers probably wanted to show an authentic view of what being a hockey player is like. I understand that. But it's a little problematic when it's later swept under the rug and treated like something that we're just supposed to accept.
Elias: [...] it’s not very fun to sit in a hockey locker room where people are talking about how nice it is to fuck my sister.
Felicia: Ludde would never say anything like that, you know that.
Elias: He wouldn’t? It’s a locker room, Felicia. That’s the only thing they talk about.
It did not sit right with me how Felicia seemed to be the one Elias blamed in this scene, and Ludde and his friends never faced any real consequences for what they said. Elias did lash out at Ludde, but there was no severe consequence for Omar and Adam's comments.
Compare this scenario to another Swedish show, Beartown on HBO. Beartown is similar to Eagles and focuses on a hockey team in a small town with one of the star players hooking up with a girl who's recently moved to their small town.
This girl is raped by the hockey player. And because of his status as the star of the team, he has almost the whole school behind him. The girl however is labeled as a lying slut. It's unfair and frustrating to see it happen, but it's authentic and done in a way that doesn't glamorize the ugly side of hockey culture.
Eagles is not as dark as Beartown so this comparison might be a little unfair. Beartown's whole storyline did revolve around this incident while in Eagles the hockey culture is treated more as a side thought. It's like they decided to throw in a taste of what goes on in a locker room just to create drama without really addressing it further.
Beartown did a much better job of portraying the problematic and toxic elements of hockey culture without making it seem like it's just something normal that we should accept. It was honest and raw. If you haven't seen the show, this short video does a great job of depicting how much thought was put into the toxic hockey culture, winning mentality, and subsequently hockey players thinking they're entitled to do whatever they want.
So, to respond to Ekstrand's quote from Edvins Skådisdrömmar—I did not experience Ludde as a "good guy" who only makes dumb decisions at all. In season 1, he's a bad person for letting his friends sexualize a girl he likes and letting her brother hear their disgusting comments. He's a bad person for fighting with her brother and later yelling at her, saying her drug issues are insignificant despite acting supportive of her only two episodes earlier.
I don't mind conflicts like these because they drive the story forward. I didn't particularly like Ludde in season 1 because of the reasons I just stated, but they're necessary to create drama and make the show interesting.
It's just weird to me how one of the writers is saying that Ludde is a calm person and a good guy when that is not at all how I interpreted his character.
Eagles is a show targeted towards a young audience, among them probably a lot of easily influenced pre-teens. What kind of message does this send to them when the guy letting his friends sexualize a girl he's slept with and on top of that laughing at their inappropriate comments is referred to as the good guy?
Klara is mean... What else?
From the moment we're introduced to Klara, it seems obvious that she'll play a living and breathing version of the infamous Alpha Bitch trope. She's also a prime example of the basic Popular is Evil trope and has her own Girl Posse consisting of Sara and Amie.
Klara feels threatened by the arrival of a potential new popular girl, Felicia, and does everything in her power to bully Felicia to show dominance. She barely shows any good sides of herself.
The only instance I can think of where we sort of see season 1 Klara in a positive light is when she talks to Amie in 1x05 about their friendship and then accompanies Amie to her audition for the school band.
Klara: Ever since Felicia started at school… It’s felt like you only hang out with her and that you’ve forgotten about me. She like took you from me.
Amie: But I haven’t forgotten you.
Klara: No, but do you get what I mean?
Amie: I get it, but I haven’t forgotten you.
Klara: No, I know.
Amie: I know, but it just turned out that way when school started.
Klara: Okay.
Amie: But I’m sorry.
Klara: It’s fine.
Amie: Are you sure?
Klara: Yeah. You can make it up to me when you go on your world tour.
Klara is really supportive of Amie's musical endeavors, but she also uses her support as a way to alienate Felicia from the girl group. It's very on the nose and kind of feels suffocating in the way it's written.
Klara: Amie, did you remove the clips?
Amie: Yeah, she said they weren’t good.
Klara: She’s just jealous. It’s so obvious. I mean, I’m jealous. You sing absolutely amazing. I don’t know, I just think it was really rude of her to sit in the cafeteria and criticize you like that
Amie: Yeah, maybe. But she apologized.
Klara: But still. That clip of you in the bathroom… Like… Sorry, but I’d be so mad if someone had posted something like that of me. I mean, you were standing there without makeup, completely non-fixed up. And the whole thing with her filming you without you knowing. That’s really weird. You don’t do that. Don’t you think so?
I'm sure there are plenty of people who act like this in real life. And maybe that's part of the problem, because Klara in season 1 really isn't an interesting character. We've met this person before and we know exactly what she's like. There's nothing new to discover. So season 1 is essentially just Klara being petty and rude every chance she gets, and to me it felt like a large part of her character was written just to stir up drama.
In 1x06, we see Klara backstab Amie by filming her making out with Ludde at her Halloween party. But I thought it was established in 1x05 that Klara feels like Amie was taken from her? And if Klara actually cared about Amie and didn't want to lose her as a friend, she wouldn't just stand by and watch with her phone recording the whole thing. It doesn't make a lot of sense.
Klara even made that whole point about how it was really weird of Felicia to film Amie without her knowing. So why would Klara do it, when she expressed that's weird and not something a normal person does? Is that supposed to be foreshadowing? Because if so, that's a clear contradiction and not how foreshadowing works.
When Sara happens to see the video on Klara's phone she immediately says that Klara should delete it.
Sara: What is that? Did they know you were filming?
Klara: No, of course they didn’t know.
Sara: Oh my god, Klara. You should probably delete it.
Klara: I’m going to! But it’s crazy, right?
Sara: Yeah, god. But seriously, delete it.
Klara: I’m going to.
So Klara says she's going to delete the video. But it's still unclear why it was filmed in the first place if Klara insists that she's going to delete it. It's not like she filmed it just to show it to Sara either, since Sara wasn't meant to see it and only saw it by chance while swiping through Klara's photos on her phone.
It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video like that of her best friend that she's supposed to care about. It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video of anybody without their knowledge when she previously made a big deal about how you shouldn't do that.
What Klara's character is, is a bad attempt at the classical mean girl. She's clichéd, boring, and full of tropes.
Even her eventual character development is riddled with tropes like the Heel Realization where a character realizes they're actually one of the bad guys. This realization seems to come in 1x08, where Felicia calls Klara out on her behavior.
Felicia: You know what, Klara. I’m so fucking tired of your fucking comments. You didn’t get to be Lucia this year. Poor you! Was dad unable to fix that? Cry then, Klara. Cry. You’re so fucking mean. Everybody here is tired- Everybody here is scared of you. Even those who liked you once, they can’t take it anymore.
Klara: That’s not true. It’s not true.
Felicia: Yes, everybody is scared of you. You know what? Look around. Show people some fucking respect.
Klara: Well say something, Amie!
Amie: What is there to say? She’s right.
Klara needed a wake-up call like this. It's just unfortunate that she goes back to her mean girl behavior and posts the video after Amie insinuated that Klara wasn't a real friend. Klara already knew that Amie felt that way since she said Felicia was right in her assessment of everybody being scared and tired of Klara. So wouldn't it have made more sense for Klara to post the video right after that moment instead of during Amie's performance?
Or rather, why not pull a Subverted Trope and not have Klara post the video at all after she realized how horrible she'd been acting? That would've made me respect her so much more and be a great introduction to her character development in season 2.
The Halloween Incident
To me, the whole Halloween episode was questionable. First off, we never got actual confirmation of what happened in that room between Amie and Ludde. Some viewers insist that they only made out and others believe they went all the way. Here's what the creator of the show, Stefan H. Lindén, had to say about this in a Q&A post he did:
I think if you went into the writers room of Eagles and asked all of us what really happened in that room [between Ludde and Amie at Klara's Halloween party] we would all have different answers. I know what happened, but I’m not sure we will ever truly know for sure, unless Ludvig or Amie eventually are open enough to admit to anyone what really happened.
This is kind of a vague answer, but that's fair considering that when Stefan did this Q&A the latest episode that had been released was 2x05 and he probably didn't want to spoil anything. However, looking back at this answer knowing how the season turned out I still feel like it's unclear what happened. It's also strange that Stefan seems to be saying that they never actually decided what happened between them since the writers "would all have different answers".
1x06 was just an odd episode for me overall. Lots of things felt rushed and underdeveloped. Let's not forget that this episode also contained, in my opinion, some of the weirdest lines in the whole show (along with Elias's strange monologue about plague vampires).
Ludde: Hey, I only have like 3%. Do you have any power?
Adam: Are you wondering if I have a power bank in my shorts? It’s coming-
Ludde: I like shellfish. (said to Amie, wearing a lobster costume)
Up until this episode, Ludde has shown zero interest and attraction towards Amie. We are basically told that Ludde only hooked up with Amie because he was so drunk that he practically had no idea what he was doing.
In 1x02, we see a drunk Amie try to kiss Tobbe and upon getting rejected she moves on to make out with Adam. She gets overly friendly when she's drunk so the fact that she makes out with Ludde later is... Weird, but not entirely out of the realms of possibility.
Ludde on the other hand is moping about Felicia all night. He regrets how he yelled at her at the end of 1x05 and it shows. He's trying to drown all his problems in alcohol and it seems to be working, because when it enters his system he seems to be on top of the world.
What I found kind of ambiguous in this incident was if Ludde even remembered what happened that night. He was drinking so much compared to Amie, who doesn't really need as much alcohol before she reaches her "overly friendly" state. I thought for sure that Ludde was oblivious to the situation when he woke up in his bed the next day and immediately messaged Felicia.
There are just so many questions to unpack here that were never answered. What prompted Amie and Ludde to go into that empty room? Why did Ludde come with her? Why didn't Adam seem to care about this, when he'd been sitting next to Ludde and taking care of him most of the night? And as I wrote before, why would Klara film this video of her best friend when she previously expressed that was a weird thing to do?
There's just too much in 1x06 left unanswered. The Amie/Ludde hook-up was a badly executed plot twist because there wasn't anything hinting that this would happen. It just came out of nowhere.
Unbalanced screentime and Elias's wasted potential
A large portion of season 1 was dedicated to Felicia. This was kind of a let-down for me since I thought more focus would be placed on Eagles as a hockey team (after all, that's what the show is named after). I also thought more attention would be on Elias since he's the talented star player who's supposed to live up to his father's legacy.
The show starts with a couple radio hosts hyping up how Elias Kroon, son of the legendary Mats Kroon, is going to join the Eagles hockey team.
Host #1: [...] It’s finally official. New center in the junior team - Elias Kroon, son to the legendary NHL-pro Mats Kroon, who has now chosen to move home from the US to his hometown where Elias will play in his father’s old club Oskarshamn Eagles.
Host #2: This is so freaking cool. Who doesn’t want a Kroon on their team?
Host #1: We hope that he’ll take a spot on the A-team.
But we don't learn a lot about who Elias actually is in the first episode. The attention is on Felicia and her interest in Ludde.
Elias is so discarded that he barely has anything to say in the first couple of scenes we see him in. Here are all his eight lines in 1x01, and I'm not even joking.
Elias: Yes.
Elias: Shut up.
Elias: Ow.
Elias: It's fine.
Elias: Really?
Elias: Fucking hell.
Elias: I'll stay here.
Elias: No, it's fine.
In 1x02 he has even fewer lines. Three, to be exact, and all he says is that his injury is a sprain and that it's fine. Essentially just an echo of two of the lines he had in the previous episode. It's nothing new.
There's a way to have a character stand out when they don't have many lines, but Elias just fades into the background with every other extra. There's too much time spent on having other characters talk about Elias than us actually getting to know him. So when we do meet him, it's pretty underwhelming.
Compare Elias to his sister who gets so much more attention from the writers. I don't really understand why either, since I thought Elias was a much more interesting character than his influencer sister. Felicia's character only seems to revolve around a guy. I wonder how many times we've seen that before?
In 1x02 we see the Eagles hockey team play their first game, but Elias is unable to play and has to sit in the stands for what was supposed to be his debut match. Why? Because during a hockey practice session in 1x01, Adam rams his stick into Elias to purposely injure him. I mean, fair enough. Adam is trying to get Ludde on the main team since he and Elias are competing for the same position. The shot of Adam smiling after Elias sprains his wrist is a bit too on the nose, but whatever.
What this does is minimize Elias' presence in season 1 by a lot. We don't see the son of the legendary NHL professional play an actual game until 1x05, which is more than halfway into the season. It's kind of disappointing but I understand the injury is done to dramatize his situation.
Elias barely gets his own storylines in the first few episodes. He just has things done to him instead of acting on his own. When we do see him on screen he gets injured by Adam, reprimanded by his father, and later told he can't play in his debut game.
His sweet side (or any side of him, really) isn't shown until 1x03 when Amie wakes up at the Kroon house and Elias reassures her that they didn't do anything together and that she can borrow Felicia's clothes.
Elias doesn't really do much for the plot until he hears Ludde's friends objectify Felicia and he starts a fight with Ludde and confronts Felicia about it. That's when it feels like Elias is actually a part of this show instead of just being an extra shoved into the background. His actions are finally affecting the plot.
Elias's potential in season 1 was hugely wasted. The only episode where we actually got to see him shine was 1x07, when he travels to Karlskrona with Amie. We find out he doesn't want the hockey arrangement his dad has planned for him and that he's actually a pretty goofy guy who likes making jokes (and eating green candy).
If less time was spent with Felicia and the distribution of every episode's 20 minutes was more balanced, season 1 could've been massively improved. It got much better in season 2, but season 1 suffered and made many people think that Felicia was a basic and unentertaining character.
The side characters and their comic relief
So one thing that I found really disappointing with Felicia's amount of screentime is that we barely got enough time for the other main characters, let alone the side characters.
What I mean here is that the only people we really know on the Eagles hockey team are Ludde and Elias. Ludde's friends, Adam and Omar, just feel like comic relief sidekicks. We don't really know what they're like, besides the fact that they like to make jokes and mess around.
This issue is largely created by the short running time the episodes have along with season 1 only having eight episodes in total. That's definitely understandable. It did get better in season 3 where we see Ludde having a deeper conversation with Adam and Omar and they finally don't just feel like the comic relief characters, but actual people with layers.
Ludde: I’m going to quit hockey.
Adam: Are you serious?
Omar: What the hell are you saying?
Ludde: It’s not the same anymore. I’m not passionate about it. I… Yes, it sucks, but… I’ve thought about it for a while now.
Omar: We make jokes about it and all, but… Yeah. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Kingelikingen.
Adam: I get that it’s a tough choice. But yeah… You’ll work things out. You and Felicia. You always do.
Ludde: You guys are pretty awesome sometimes, actually.
This scene was really sweet, and I wish we could've had moments like this between the guys in season 1. Just one scene to show that they're not just the "typical hockey guys". It feels like Ludde was the only person on the team in season 1 who wasn't just a background character. Even Elias, who you would assume should be at the forefront, isn't properly developed until 1x05 where we see him defending his sister and starting a fight with Ludde. Otherwise, it very much felt like Elias was kept in the background.
There are also guys on the team called Herman, Simon, Näslund, Ekbäck, Hoffmann, Berglund (even Montell, which was a fun nod to the show's director)... But who are they, actually? Do you even remember their names? To be honest with you, I don't. Because they're just names—not actual characters.
None of the other guys on the team get any depth. They're just sort of there as extras and to give the audience a sense of comedy with their "hockey team shenanigans". This was illustrated in 1x08, where Adam and Omar make their teammate Liam do a "sexy dance" on a table because he lost his virginity. Or a more extreme example—Jönsson, who only exists to be the comic relief and the unlucky guy who just can't catch a break.
In 2x04, Jönsson is told by Jack to do extra time in the gym and gets told off when he only spends a few minutes on the exercise bike. Later, Jack also makes a joke about how he should get Jönsson a defibrillator. In 2x09 Jönsson invites Ludde, Adam, and Omar to come to his mom's place to hang out. After he's left, Adam makes a comment about how there's no way he's going to "rot" in Jönsson's apartment that doesn't even have a balcony.
Don't get me wrong, these scenes aren't bad and I don't mean they should've been scrapped. Comedy can absolutely have its place in a show like this. Let's take the scene where Ludde flashes a couple of unfortunate old ladies on his first date with Felicia as an example. It feels like something a teenage boy would do to try to make a girl he likes laugh. It's a brief scene and it's nice to see Ludde being able to goof off only moments after talking about Andreas. We know that's a touchy subject for him.
However, it feels slightly overdone sometimes with how almost everybody on the hockey team is only there for comedic purposes and to fill space. It's more refreshing when they're shown to be multi-dimensional. I wish this is something that the writers would've considered when the show is literally titled after the hockey team, yet most of the hockey players are hardly in the story.
To add to this, it felt like Sara and Tobbe completely disappeared from the story in season 2. With Sara we understand that she probably didn't want to hang out with Klara anymore after knowing she filmed the Halloween video and posted it on Instagram, so that's fair. But it would've been nice to see Tobbe stick around in season 2, and I'll get back to why I think that.
The potential of season 1
When I look back on season 1 I feel really nostalgic. No matter how many small details that irked me, I can't deny that the setting of the show is beautiful and I really appreciate the depiction of it. Instead of showing Oskarshamn as a boring small town, we're shown the beauty of it which is incorporated into the storylines.
Some examples would be Ludde and Felicia's first date at Gunnarsö and walk through Havslätt, the gorgeous view of the Oskarshamn harbor from Klara's house Villa Högklint, and Badholmen where the school band performs and we later see Elias and Amie walking by in season 3. All these places are listed on the Eagles Oskarshamn site and I feel like they did a great job tying the storylines in with the locations.
Another aspect of season 1 and its writing that I really enjoyed was Elias and Amie's budding relationship. They just have a natural chemistry together and the dialogue between them also felt authentic and sweet.
Season 1 is just a very polished teen drama overall compared to some of SVT's previous series.
Back in 2007-2010, SVT used to air a soap opera-style show focusing on a few teenagers living in Gothenburg that was called Andra Avenyn (translation: Second Avenue). I was only seven at the time but I watched this show religiously as it aired three times a week. Just mentioning the show brings a lot of nostalgia.
Andra Avenyn amassed around 500 000 viewers per episode and was, just like Eagles, nominated for a Kristallen television award. But how good was it, really? If I take off my rose-colored glasses for a second and actually consider the show's highly dramatized storylines and unlikely scenarios, it had a tendency to drag on (which usually happens with soap operas). It didn't offer a realistic view of teenage life and on IMDb it currently sits at a rating score of 5.6 stars out of 10.
Comparing this old teen series to SVT's newer one, Eagles season 1 was a huge improvement and continues to be the most popular teen series that SVT has aired so far.
This idea and all the characters have lived in Stefan H. Lindéns mind since 2008, while Andra Avenyn was still on the air. It's actually amazing how high the quality of most TV shows has risen since then. Eagles has a rating score of 7.4 out of 10 stars on IMDb and has become internationally known in a way that Andra Avenyn never was.
Eagles season 1 laid the groundwork for SVT's most successful teen series of all time, and that's a huge achievement.
Season 2: "Subverting expectations"
When Eagles came back for season 2, the script made it kind of obvious that the writers had listened to the critique of season 1 being predictable.
I did find season 2 a huge step up from season 1—the directing was so much better and when it came to the script we got a deeper look into all the characters that they hadn't really scratched the surface of in the first season. My main disappointment however was that it felt like they threw in a bunch of weird plot twists just for the sake of "subverting expectations".
The core idea of subverting expectations can be great if done correctly. You lead the audience to believe they know what's going to happen, but then you surprise them with an unexpected and clever twist.
A post in Cinematography written by Mason Leaver defines the phrase of "subverting expectations" as:
[...] a method of surprising the audience with some element of a story, be it the plot, themes, characters, etc. This goes beyond a “twist” in a film. Expectation subversion actively works within the genre of a story, and attempts to reinterpret or subvert the conventions of that genre, breaking patterns in surprising and interesting ways. However, this method of surprising the audience is not always well received- it can sometimes be the source of heavy criticism from fans of the tropes which have been subverted.
This included "unexpected" relationships such as Elias/Klara and Amie/Ludde. The former actually worked, but the latter? Not so much.
Amie's crush on Ludde—make it make sense!
Amie and Ludde were my biggest issue with season 2, and it felt so out of character of Amie to be head over heels for Ludde. They work great as friends but romantically they're a huge mismatch.
But they have music in common, I hear you say. Yes, they do. But having a shared interest doesn't mean people are automatically a good match. You have to consider their chemistry and overall compatibility.
Before actors are cast in a show or movie where their characters will be romantically involved with each other, it's common to do what's called a chemistry read. Here's a neat description from an article in Backstage written by Caroline Liem:
Chemistry is the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people. If this were a romantic article, it would be about love. Instead, we are discussing the astonishing rapport between two actors, and how that connection is achieved in order to book [...] the role.
A chemistry read is an opportunity to read with actors being considered for a role opposite yours, usually lead roles. The main purpose is to see how you instinctively connect and work with the other actor.
This obviously wasn't done for the actors playing Amie and Ludde, since there didn't seem to be any intention of having their characters be involved in a romantic relationship.
That was even confirmed by Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A of season 2, where he said that a love triangle between Ludde/Felicia/Amie was planned but later scrapped.
I can confirm that from the beginning of development of the series and the first version of the storyline a triangle drama was at some point intended for season 1 but later removed – however when creating the characters, Ludvigs skill in music and arts was always there from the beginning so by knowing that, we always knew that interactions would appear between them. When looking back at Season 1, in the first scene by the lockers when Amie tells Felicia who Ludvig is, she does know exactly who he is and she is well aware of that his friend Tobias is a music guy that Amie wants to get to know. Also when looking at it, when I was the same age as Ludvig and Amie I, and I am sure a lot of people can relate to it, fact is that we never really knew if it was love or friendship in the beginning.
Knowing that the triangle drama was scrapped for season 1, it makes sense why it seems so arbitrary. There was no groundwork laid down for this pairing before it was hastily thrown together in 1x06 for a cheap plot twist. This continues in season 2, where Amie and Ludde start spending more time together. Yet it's hard to see Ludde as a potential love interest for Amie in the way the writers want us to. They still come off as friends despite having hooked up at a party.
I mentioned that Tobbe should've stuck around for season 2 and here's why. Tobbe was written to be the leader of the school band that Amie later joins, and he was friends with Ludde before the video was posted. He would've been a perfect fit for the Amie/Ludde music storyline but he's completely absent. He had the potential to be the person who could've helped them with the song a little and then later picked up on whatever there was going on between them.
I think the Amie/Ludde storyline could've hugely benefitted from a scene between Amie and Tobbe, where Tobbe asks if she actually has feelings for Ludde and we get to hear exactly what Amie is feeling. Maybe she's torn, not wanting to get together with Ludde because of how much they hurt Felicia, but at the same time finds it hard to suppress her feelings. A scene like that would've allowed us to get into Amie's head and make the Amie/Ludde storyline much clearer.
To add, this storyline was in desperate need of more interest from Ludde's side. There needed to be some indication from him that would make Amie believe he liked him back, even if that wasn't the case. All we get is Ludde complimenting Amie's song and then a hug in 2x05 when Amie says the record label in Stockholm wanted a meeting. And apparently, that was enough for Amie to think Ludde was interested in her despite him blowing off the Stockholm meeting and Amie hearing Ludde say that the Halloween incident was a mistake.
Ludde and Amie don't really mesh as well as Elias/Amie do or even as well as Ludde/Felicia do. Elias and Amie had sparks flying from the very first scene they shared. That pairing is one of the main reasons why the show became popular internationally, and why is that? Because of the actors' chemistry.
Amie and Ludde are a clumsy attempt at throwing together two people who don't really work together with the intention of "subverting expectations". And I suppose that's what the writers wanted to depict—an awkward crush that doesn't really make sense, which I'm sure many people have experienced as a teenager. That part is fine. But what I didn't like about this storyline is that Amie had no good reason to believe Ludde would be interested in anything with her beyond a platonic friendship.
While season 2 was airing, I was convinced that Amie wasn't actually in love with Ludde. She was just lonely after the aftermath of the Halloween video and mistook her feelings for Ludde as love when she just appreciated his company. Here's what I wrote:
So as we know, Amie kissed Ludde in episode 6 when he was in the hospital after having been injured during the hockey game against Karlskrona. She immediately seemed to regret having done that and ran out without an explanation, leaving Ludde alone and confused.
I honestly don’t think Amie has any romantic feelings towards Ludde. I think she might mistake her feelings for a crush or something, when in reality she’s just lonely and appreciates Ludde always being there for her and giving her compliments on her musical ability. Ludde was complimenting Amie at the hospital, saying she was amazing, and I think Amie was just really touched by that and maybe wanted to thank him somehow, and ended up kissing him. And then she freaked out and left because oh my god did she really just kiss Ludde. It was an uncomfortable and awkward situation and that’s probably why she ran out.
However, I really believe that if she had just stayed to explain and apologize, Ludde would understand and they could’ve just laughed it off. But this is a drama show so of course that wouldn’t happen!
Do I think the writers are making them into a couple? No, definitely not. They know that season 1 was sort of predictable and cliché, so they’re making season 2 as different as possible by including these unexpected pairings such as Klara & Elias and Amie & Ludde. But Amie and Ludde won’t ever be a couple, because Ludde is still very much hung up on Felicia. I don’t see them as a couple either - yes, they have music in common, but they work way better as friends than in a relationship.
In Edvins Skådisdrömmar, which is a behind-the-scenes documentary of Eagles season 2, writers Fanny Ekstrand and Michaela Hamilton discuss the writing of the show in the documentary's third episode. The third episode is mostly focused on the lead-up to the scene where Amie kisses Ludde at the hospital. Adrian Öjvindsson, who plays Ludde, says:
Filming the kissing scene was [...] awkward and weird, actually. And that's how it ended up. Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes. In this case you could take in that it was weird, because that's also what the scene wanted to depict.
When Edvin reads the script, he describes the scene as a "nightmare" scenario. I agree. And the lazy build-up to this Awkward Kiss trope doesn't make it any better, because just like the Halloween incident this doesn't make a lot of sense.
It's supposed to be awkward and weird, just like Adrian said. But he also mentioned one of the most important details: Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes.
Before this kiss scene, there was nothing that indicated any chemistry between them. No accidental hand-touching, no longing stares, no nothing. Just a friendly hug. A proper build-up to the kiss scene would've made it feel less out of place.
The love confession from Amie to Ludde in 2x10 really threw me off as well. The confession to me made no sense and honestly felt like a prank call. There was no feeling behind it and zero reason for Amie to believe that there was a chance Ludde liked her back.
At the end of 2x08, Felicia goes to Ludde's house after he's confessed the truth to the police about the Andreas situation. Amie happens to overhear the conversation and she hears Ludde very clearly say that he's not interested in Amie.
Ludde: Felicia, there’s nothing between us. Between me and Amie. It was really the biggest mistake of my life.
Felicia: Goodbye, Ludde.
Ludde: Felicia, please!
Amie, now having her heart broken, crosses Ludde's name off the contract while crying. She knows he doesn't feel the same. So why would Amie even bother to call Ludde up to tell him she's "in love with him"?
Amie: [...] Hey, Ludde…
Ludde: Yeah?
Amie: It feels really weird to hear our song now. Because I know who the lyrics are about. And… And I… I really like you. Or, well… I’m in love with you. I just need to know how you feel. Or if you feel anything. Just tell me.
Ludde: I’ll always want to be your friend, Amie, but… It’s Felicia I’m in love with.
This moment is on par with the awkwardness from the hospital kiss between them in 2x06. The second-hand embarrassment with this one was really rough, and what I don't understand is why this was even added to the script when Amie had already gotten the confirmation that Ludde didn't think of her in a romantic way. This storyline could've ended in 2x08 after Amie overheard the conversation between Ludde and Felicia.
It really didn't need to drag on for the whole season, essentially making Amie's whole storyline in season 2 about a guy. Her moment of finally getting signed to the record label was ruined when it could've been regarded as a fresh start if the storyline had just ended where it should have.
What this storyline did instead was ruining my favorite friendship of season 1, which was Amie/Felicia. This mess made it so hard for them to reconcile and they didn't end up properly addressing it until 3x09, spending almost two whole seasons mad at each other. It sucks that the writers decided to drag out their fighting and disagreements for this long when they could've instead shown two girls in solidarity who don't let a guy get between them and their friendship.
Amie apologized in 3x03 for how she hurt Felicia, but Felicia made it clear in 3x06 that she still harbored ill will towards Amie for what happened at Halloween (which in the timeline of this show was more than a year ago).
Felicia (to Amie): Are you going to start slobbering with [Elias] now too? Just give me back that sweater first, I don’t want slobber on that. Thanks.
I talked about how much I disliked the Amie/Ludde storyline in this post, with my main reason being that it really messed up the character dynamics that were established in season 1.
This storyline [of Ludde and Amie hooking up]—along with Amie falling in love with Ludde—is by far my least favorite one because it messed up the whole character dynamic. I feel like Amie and Felicia won’t ever go back to the kind of friendship they had in season 1 before the Halloween incident because the trust was so broken, and Amie really should’ve tried harder to apologize to Felicia like Ludde did instead of going after her best friend’s ex in season 2.
If there's just one thing I could change about this show, I would 100% get rid of the Amie/Ludde storylines. There is nothing that annoyed me as much as those storylines did.
Amie's musical ambitions
I've talked about this a bit before in another post because this was something that really bugged me about Amie's character in season 2. Here's what I wrote:
I honestly still feel like Amie’s whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it [by the Stockholm music producers] with comments such as “it’s going to be a real summer hit” felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that’s still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt.
I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia’s Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract.
I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn’t happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2.
I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist [at the beginning of season 3], but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we’d have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn’t get that at all. Where was the struggle?
[...] Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy.
She didn’t start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn’t truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm.
To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.
It's tricky to write a storyline like this when you only have ten 20 minute episodes in the season and a limited amount of screentime for every character. All that is understandable. But it's strange that they didn't opt for a time jump to really sell this storyline and make it believable.
Eagles uses time jumps a lot, but somehow this particular plot point was omitted from that and kind of glossed over. I don't really understand how they expected us to buy this storyline. The viewers aren't stupid, and more effort should've been put into this storyline.
In the post where I wrote this, @gajana18 also had an interesting thing to add:
[...] it's equally unrealistic that this huge record company would be hounding Amie, a teenage onehit wonder essentially to come back to the label- don’t they have other bigger artists?
This is a very strong point. Considering how Amie kept expressing that she wanted to finish school and then proceeded to ignore their calls, it's weird that they didn't just decide to discard her contract when Amie clearly wasn't taking her singing career as seriously as they wanted her to.
So, back to season 2. Maybe they could've gone with the record label stealing the rights to Amie's first song and screwing her over. This fuels her to try again and after a time jump of a few months we see Amie having worked really hard on a new and better song. Maybe even a whole album. And this time, she's learned from her past mistakes and improved her songwriting. This time, she's successful in her endeavor and it feels so much more earned after knowing the struggles she's been through to get there.
I also feel like a storyline like that would've made people sympathize with Amie more in season 2. It was really hard to root for her when she had nearly screwed Ludde over by not giving credit to his songwriting and saying "fuck him" when he didn't return Amie's feelings.
Klara's character development
When we're introduced to Klara in season 1, she's a stereotypical mean girl with wealthy parents who is the popular girl at school and has her own followers.
In season 2, the writers decided to develop the character. We find out Klara has issues at home and her mom is barely there. When she is, her parents will start fighting. Klara is feeling really lonely and doesn't really hang out with her friend Sara as much as she used to.
I appreciated the added depth, but it seemed like a drastic shift. The changed perspective could attribute to that but when you step back and really look at s1 Klara and s2 Klara, they're like two completely different people.
Maybe Klara's reputation suffered after she posted the Halloween video? Maybe she had a change of heart after Felicia finally confronted her during Lucia? I mean, I guess.
But what most fans (including me) didn't like about Klara in season 2 was that there were no clear consequences for her after she posted the Halloween video. Klara still hangs out with what seems to be the popular crowd and she has people to go out with. In a post I wrote last year about my thoughts on season 2, I wrote this:
I actually wish that Klara would’ve become more ostracized from her school friends to emphasize how alone she is, but she seems to still be pretty popular so that was kind of disappointing. I thought the fall-out of her posting the video would be worse, but I guess not.
Anyway, I like that they’re taking a disliked character and making her into a better person. Feels like it’s been done a few times before, but I still appreciate them doing it. I hated s1 Klara for being so one-dimensional, but s2 Klara is well on her way to being a pretty good and nuanced character.
Her character development sort of comes a little out of nowhere, though. Her reputation wasn't ruined by posting that video and she didn't really lose any friends besides Sara (she had already lost Amie prior to posting that video considering what Amie said to her after Lucia in 1x08).
So what prompted Klara to become this whole new person who actually considers other people's feelings in a relatively short amount of time? Here's a conversation between Felicia and Klara in 2x07.
Felicia: Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? I understand that we’re not best friends just because you and Elias are together. We’re not here without a reason, right?
Klara: No, I get that this feels weird for you. And if you don’t trust me after everything that’s happened - or that I’ve done.
Felicia: Klara…
Klara: I know that I haven’t acted like the world’s best person. And I regret that. Sorry.
But why does Klara regret her past behavior? What made her realize she hadn't acted like the "world's best person" if the ramifications from posting the Halloween video were so minimal?
Was it the relationship with Elias that made Klara change? No, I don't think so. When they first start talking at the bar in 2x03, Elias tells Klara that he doesn't always agree with Felicia and that he has his own viewpoints. In 2x07, he says Klara wasn't the one who messed up, but rather Amie and Ludde. And in 2x09, the script tells us that the Elias/Klara relationship seemed to bring more change to Elias rather than Klara.
Felicia: What did you do to him?
Klara: What?
Felicia: He’s smiling. Elias is like a whole new person since he met you.
Klara: Stop.
Felicia: I mean it!
So what made Klara change? In 1x08 she's mocking Felicia's drug problems and posts a video that will for sure ruin Amie's reputation. But at the start of season 2, she's suddenly become more withdrawn and considerate of people's feelings.
I can only name one factor that actually makes sense, and that's the fighting between her parents. Klara seems to turn into this quiet child when she has to listen to her mom and dad yelling at each other. This is something that didn't really begin until season 2, when Ola's company GECED started going under. This storyline was very well done.
But the other things, like Klara's reputation and friend group which you would assume would be affected, remain as they were in season 1.
Jack's sudden character change
Jack came into season 2 as a charming and charismatic character, seemingly fooling everybody into thinking he was a good guy. He knew the Kroon family from before and both Felicia and Elias were none the wiser when it came to the eventual reveal of his true colors.
Here's what Stefan H. Lindén had to say about the Jack character in his season 2 Q&A:
Bringing Jack in was actually originally not my idea, it came from my writer colleagues after that they revised my storyline notes for Season 2, while I was still down in Oskarshamn shooting Season 1.
We had always intended for a character to come in and raise the stakes but I never imagined it to be Jack. When we started to develop the character, we all started liking him so he was kept in the story. Like with any new character we never really know who they are and what [the] point of them for coming in is [...]
Personally, I feel like the point of Jack's character is pretty obvious. When he first comes to Oskarshamn he is very much the embodiment of the new love interest coming in to date the girl who has broken up with her previous lover, while the previous lover still loves her and does anything he can to get her back although she's dating someone new. Jack is the Romantic False Lead trope who later becomes an alpha-dog Jerkass.
What I found interesting about Jack compared to Klara (in season 1) is that Jack isn't just a bad guy. He's very clever with his manipulation tactics and can easily charm people with his good looks and charisma.
When Felicia accuses Jack of cheating in 2x07, he manages to spin the whole thing around and make Felicia apologize to him and say it was stupid of her to believe he would cheat on her. I talked about this in a post while the season still aired, before Jack's true colors were revealed. Here's what I wrote:
I still don’t know if Jack really is cheating on Felicia with Olivia (the girl that texted him) but I would say he is. Jack is incredibly confident and charming, which makes him able to easily lie and manipulate people. We know he’s not an entirely good person since he’s already lied to Elias about not knowing that Mats would bring him back to Eagles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he really did hook up with Olivia and ended up being a really good liar.
The fact is that not only did he deny it but he then shamed Felicia for blaming him and causing a scene, ultimately shifting the focus in the argument to her and making Felicia feel bad that she even confronted him in the first place. Jack says that maybe they shouldn’t even be together, which causes Felicia to backtrack and apologize. It’s actually pretty impressive how Jack was able to spin that around to blame Felicia and make her apologize.
Jack is able to take a small detail and use it as ammunition to get what he wants. In this situation, he brings up the girl in the Stockholm club that Felicia partied with and also kissed.
Jack: You shouldn’t accuse me, either.
Felicia: What?
Jack: I saw on Instagram, you and some girl in Stockholm. Have I whined about that? Coming here and blaming me for things, it feels really immature.
Felicia: Fuck. Sorry, Jack.
Jack wasn't bothered by that at all. It happened before Felicia and Jack were even an official couple, and all they had done was hooking up at a party while Felicia was high. Jack, having cheated on Felicia, couldn't care less about the random girl Felicia kissed. That was just something he used to manipulate her.
When we discover that Jack is actually cheating on Felicia, he immediately reverts to a one-dimensional "evil" character. He's become the 2.0 version of Klara in season 1—written in just to stir up drama.
This "master manipulator" version of him just goes down the drain and Jack turns into a manchild who starts petty fights, files a police report because Ludde pushed him, and says to Felicia "I'm gonna tell on you!". Alright, maybe those weren't his exact words, but you know what I mean. It's a sudden shift and you start wondering how Jack was able to hide this version of himself so well before.
In 3x05, Jack sees Ludde and Andreas after a hockey game and fumbles trying to find any insult he can to hurl at Ludde. Everything he says from that point on is just line after line to really solidify that Jack is the bad guy. You didn't forget that, right? Here, let's have Jack call Felicia a druggie so you know just how shitty he is. And have him call Andreas a junkie later for good measure—there, that should be enough for people to understand that Jack is the villain here.
Jack: Johansson!
Ludde: What the hell are you doing here?
Jack: What does it look like?
Ludde: I guess it’s you I should thank for the victory. Nice work.
Jack: What is Felicia doing these days, then? Does she miss me?
Ludde: Hey, you’re shutting up now, do you get it?!
Jack: Jesus Christ. Do you think you can save her? What do you think she even sees in you? You two play in different leagues, Ludde.
Ludde: You have no idea what we’re like.
Jack: Come on! You should leave her. While you can. She’ll just pull you down into the dirt with her. You’re no hero, Ludde. Isn’t she still doing drugs? Once a druggie, always a druggie, right?
Jack is a horrible person, but at least he was able to pretend to be a good guy in season 2. And that was actually really fascinating. I wish we could've seen more of Jack's manipulative side that he showed in season 2 instead of making everything coming out of his mouth be a half-assed attempt at insulting the other person. That's a pretty boring villain, in my opinion.
Jack's backstory of his father being an alcoholic and him starting to resent the whole Kroon family because they had everything growing up while he didn't is interesting. It would've also made more sense if his anger was only directed towards the Kroon family since they're the ones he grew up with. They're the ones he was after the whole time.
His anger towards them feels cheapened when Jack also starts insulting Andreas (who he's probably never met before) for no good reason. It's like Jack's human qualities are just gone and all that's left is this empty shell made to start fights. His backstory didn't really make anybody sympathize with him, either.
The improvements of season 2
What I liked about the writing in season 2 was that they explored new ideas and had some solid storylines (besides the mess that was Amie and Ludde). Elias and Klara actually worked pretty well as a couple, even if they were pretty much the 2.0 version of Felicia/Ludde as the "wealthy, popular pretty girl starts dating the star player on the sports team".
Felicia finally gets some more depth. The scene at the end of 2x02, where Felicia and Leila park their car near the harbor and just start crying, is so powerful.
2x05 is also one of my favorite episodes of the show, as well as the ending montage of the 2x10 season finale. In Gameday, we had a very touching scene between Felicia and Mats where they finally communicate. It's not the most understanding conversation but it's a start. It's an interesting contrast between their talk in 1x06 where Felicia revealed she saw Mats cheating on Leila versus the talk they're having now.
Another one of my favorite scenes is when Felicia and Ludde meet up at their bench in 2x10 after Ludde has called her up asking Felicia to come if there's any chance of them getting back together.
The dialogue is simple and to the point. There's no long-winded love confession for the sake of drama. It's a moment that the whole season has been building up for, and when we finally get there we realize that this is how love should be.
Easy and simple.
Ludde: You came back.
Felicia: Yeah, I did.
Ludde: Do you remember our first date here?
Felicia: No. I’ve forgotten.
Ludde: I was so freaking nervous.
Felicia: Everything you said… Did you mean it? Because you hurt me, Ludvig. And I… I’ve really tried to hurt you back, but… It’s not possible. I can’t… Not love you. Do you think… Do you think it can be us again?
Ludde: What do you think?
Felicia: I don’t want anything else.
Ludde admitting how nervous he was on their first date is sweet and shows us how much they've been through. Felicia is struggling to find the words to say and she's acknowledging how hurt she was, but still can't seem to find it in her heart to hate Ludde. It's honest.
Another plotline that I think was a little underrated in season 2 is the GECED company going bankrupt and Ola, Klara's dad, is under investigation for financial crime. This isn't a storyline you would usually see in a teen series. It's much more serious. It also gave us a really touching and poignant scene in 2x08 between Ola and Klara sitting on the floor of his office, where Klara has to comfort her father who starts crying.
Ola: When you were little you used to sit like this. On the floor, while I was working. You had your own room, but you wanted to sit with me. “Help daddy work”. Mom’s doing the right thing by leaving for a while, don’t blame her for that.
Klara: What, you can’t just leave because things get a little tough.
Ola: Maybe you should get away for a while too. You know, I never wanted you two to… That you… Everything’s gone.
Klara: It will be fine. It will be fine.
Ola: Sorry. I’m sorry.
In 2x09, Klara is at a party when she notices a bunch of missed calls from her dad. She immediately senses something is wrong and rushes home to find her dad having attempted suicide. It's executed very well and I really liked the more serious tone they went for in season 2.
It set up season 3 perfectly, which continued with the darker themes but balanced them very well with the more light-hearted moments.
Season 3: Finding one's footing
Season 3 was a highly anticipated season. I thought the season 2 finale was masterfully done and it left me wanting more. When season 1 finished on its cliffhanger of the video leaking, the focus only seemed to be on that.
But with season 2 there's Felicia/Ludde getting back together and Ludde having been sued by Jack, Jack threatening that he would leak all of the Kroon's family secrets, Klara's dad passing away, Elias deciding to get on the train and go to the draft combine anyway, Amie having finally become a recording artist but being isolated and heartbroken... There's so much to unpack, and it's a lot more interesting than the ending of season 1.
Where's Jack?
Jack is supposed to be the main villain but he's gone for most of the season, failing to show up until 3x05. In the season 2 finale Jack makes a huge deal about how he's going to destroy Felicia's life. He's threatening her in a very violent and abusive way.
Jack: [...] I know a lot about you, Felicia. And your nice family. It’s enough for me to leak to one news site. I can destroy you. Do you get it? I’ll tell them everything. The drugs, the cheating, your abortion!
Felicia: Shut up!
Jack: Hey. Huh? Did you seriously think I wanted to be with you? The little Kroon princess, who has gotten everything for free her whole fucking life! You and Elias! Like spoiled brats! You don’t understand what it means to fight for something!
In 2x10, Jack decides to report Ludde for assault but he doesn't follow through on destroying this family that he hates. If there's anything Jack seems to despise above all, it should be the Kroon family, right? So why did he fight back with Ludde but not the Kroon family?
I expected Jack to leak all the Kroon secrets at the beginning of season 3, but Felicia seems strangely calm at the funeral which I'm assuming only takes place two weeks or so after Ola's passing in the season 2 finale.
Then, a whole year passes with no indication that Jack is ever going to leak anything. As season 3 was airing, I commented on how strange this felt in an ask I received:
One of my main questions about the time jump is the whole thing with Jack saying he was going to ruin Felicia’s and the Kroon family’s reputation in the press. It seemed like nothing really came of that?
I’m pretty sure that detail hasn’t been abandoned entirely and that Jack will come back (we’ve already seen a glimpse of him in the third episode), but it feels strange that Jack threatened to leak all her secrets and then just never did. I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him. And yet there’s no mention of where Jack has been during that time or what he’s been doing.
I feel like I would be pretty paranoid about this if I was Felicia, but we don’t see this haunting her until episode 3 when she sees a flash of Jack before realizing it was just some random guy.
It seems strange that Felicia was relatively at ease during the funeral (which I assume took place not long after Jack first threatened her) and after the time jump. We don’t really know what’s been going on during that year, but Felicia seems to be fine and like she hasn’t had any thoughts of Jack at all. Maybe she assumed that his threats were empty and that he wouldn’t actually leak anything to the press, which is reasonable but at the same time I don’t understand why Jack has yet to do anything after a year. He was really pissed off in the season 2 finale, after all.
Going to repeat one of the things I wrote here because it deserves to be mentioned twice, and this point is one of my biggest issues.
I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him.
I feel like this was kind of a plot hole that wasn't explained. Jack is ruthless and doesn't hold back at all when his true colors come out. He has no problem talking about the sexual relationship he had with Felicia in front of her father. Jack is just that horrible.
So what prevented him from ruining the Kroon family's lives earlier, when it seems to be the thing he's wanted for years?
Michael's predictable predicament
Michael first appears at the end of 3x04, where he calls Amie up to tell her he's her father.
Man: Hey! Sorry for calling so late. Is it Amie? Amie Condé?
Amie: Yeah.
Man: I saw you on TV the other day. I’m Michael Condé. I’m your father.
In the next episode, we get a voice-over of the continued conversation between him and Amie.
Michael: [...] I understand if it’s shocking. I’m in Oskarshamn for work for a few weeks and— Could we meet up someday?
So, it's clear what the writers are going for here. It's the estranged father who returns into the child's life when they've become successful. We're made to believe it's a Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You trope when Michael meets up with Amie and tells her why he left.
Michael: So Petra, she— Has she said anything about me?
Amie: Well… That you moved from Sweden before I was born… That you’re working as a lawyer. That you didn’t want to see me.
Michael: I was… I was young when we met. Your mom and I. And everything went really fast. I was in love, but she had feelings for somebody else. And when she found out that she— That she was expecting you, then… She didn’t want me there. She said I wasn’t father material. To some degree she might’ve been right, but… I wasn’t much older than you are now. I had just gotten into a law school in Berlin. When I finally came back to Sweden, then… She didn’t let me see you. I had already lost you by then, but I want you to know that I— I’ve thought of you. And about a week ago, I… I’m seeing you. On TV. There you are. With my last name. I’m so proud.
However, it's pretty easy to identify the holes in Michael's story. To be honest this whole storyline was predictable from the very start. Before Michael even came into the story, I made this post which pretty much summed up Michael's whole character when we didn't even know he existed yet (this was when 3x03 was the latest episode that had aired).
I don’t think we’ve heard any mention of Amie’s dad in the whole series except for 3x02 when Amie was being interviewed and was asked about the Condé name where she said that while Samuelsson was from her mother’s side, and Condé was from “the other side”. I found her word choice a little interesting.
I don’t think Amie’s dad has passed—but rather that he’s alive and just chosen to not be a part of her life, which is why Petra seemed to be a little offended when asking Amie why she didn’t want her last name anymore. This might also be why Amie said “the other side” rather than “my dad’s side” because they have an estranged relationship.
[...] I’m not really sure if they’ll do anything with Amie’s dad (maybe they’ll go for that trope where the parent who previously abandoned their child returns after the child has accomplished something big/something major happened and the parent wants something from them for personal gain?).
When we actually get to meet Michael and hear his explanation of why he left, I wrote this post pointing out some of the holes in this storyline.
Michael meeting Amie only after she’s become famous is a little suspicious, but it’s understandable if he previously thought she didn’t want to meet him and then sees her with his last name on national television. Obviously he would contact her after that.
I feel like there were some question marks with Michael’s whole story though, and the fact that his work just conveniently happened to send him to Oskarshamn after he’d just seen Amie on TV.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but how did he know Amie had gone back to Oskarshamn if he saw her living as a pop star in Stockholm? Was this information about Amie quitting the tour and going back to her hometown even online? If Elias (who actually witnessed Amie saying she was done and quitting) seemed taken aback when he saw Amie in Oskarshamn, then how did Michael know?
I do think Michael will return for season 4 though, so hopefully this storyline will be straightened out a little. We don't really know what Michael has been up for the past few years and if he has a family of his own. Maybe he'll contact Amie again to tell her she has some younger half-siblings?
They ended on sour terms, but if Michael does have his own family it's something Amie deserves to know and she can decide whatever she wants to do. I'd also like to see a Michael/Petra reunion, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
This storyline wasn't bad, and I do appreciate we got to find out what the situation with Amie's dad was. I also liked how I was able to sympathize with Michael. He's not entirely awful, even if he did put a lot of blame on Petra. It's one of those situations where you don't really know what it's like to be in Michael's position unless you've experienced it, and it's very realistic.
Plot holes
Some of the plot holes of season 3 that I've already mentioned are how Jack waited a whole year before leaking the Kroon family's secrets and how Michael conveniently knew Amie was in Oskarshamn when nobody seemed to know she was coming except her mom.
I actually don't mind that it was never explained how Michael got Amie's phone number either, because that's usually pretty easy to find with a Google search. Things like addresses, economic status, and even your criminal history are easily accessible in Sweden when googling someone's name. So finding someone's phone number is probably fairly easy as well.
On the other hand, one of the most glaring plot holes appeared in 3x08. In this episode entitled Lost, the Kroon family is frantically searching for Felicia who has gone missing. Leila and Elias knock on Petra's door to see if Amie is there and might know something about Felicia's whereabouts. Petra tells them Amie isn't there and they leave.
Someone left me an anonymous ask which I answered in this post, pointing out how it was strange that Elias didn't just call Amie to ask her when she wasn't at home. We know Elias has her number because they've been talking on the phone and texting each other several times before in the season.
In 3x08, when Elias and his mom go to Amie's house and ask Petra if Amie has seen or spoken to Felicia or whether she's home, I couldn't help but wonder, uh Elias why not just call Amie and ask her if she has seen or spoken to Felicia? [...] if Elias had called her and she heard how frightened him and his family were and police being involved she would have told him and then there would be no point in the 3x09 episode really.
This is a very strong point. You could argue that maybe Elias just didn't think of that but if they went out of their way to visit Amie's house only to not find her there, it would seem like calling her instead would just be a logical next step in the situation? Here's what I wrote in response to this ask.
This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could’ve been avoided.
To add, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia’s instead of her brother who could’ve helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly?
I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie’s number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn’t have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, “hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she’s safe with me, we’re at this hotel in this room but she didn’t want me to call anybody, I don’t know what to do”. That would’ve been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours.
I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn’t want to go against Felicia’s wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn’t the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could’ve gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer.
[...] Elias calling Amie would’ve been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would’ve lost the drama. It’s still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.
I understand it was done this way for dramatic effect, but that doesn't really patch up the plot hole.
I also found it strange how many people turned on Felicia after Jack ruined her reputation in the press. I talked about this in an ask I received.
I don’t understand why the public turned on Felicia so harshly. And Leila too, for that matter. The way Jack told the story about how these two women had things done to them should indicate that they’re not the ones to be blamed.
If I read this article and found out an 18-year-old girl got pregnant by a “violent criminal” who forced her to abort and then abused her I would not be angry with the girl. I would be angry that she was physically abused and also outed on her sexuality for being bi.
If I read this article and found out Leila had been cheated on by her husband repeatedly with her best friends, I wouldn’t be angry at her. I would not agree with the decision to turn to alcohol (same as Felicia turning to drugs), but I wouldn’t blame them. And I feel like a lot of people should’ve been on Leila’s side after finding out the reason why they divorced.
I don’t understand why people are saying they’re disappointed in Felicia and calling her fake when she’s been through so much trauma in her life. I feel like if this actually happened in real life, all the blame would be shifted to the men because they’re the ones who—in this story—are painted as the bad guys (with the exception of Jack, considering he was anonymous).
I got another anonymous ask sent in after this, pointing out how the anger directed towards Felicia was considerably more about her drug use rather than the abuse she endured. Here was my response to that:
[...] the drug use should’ve been understandable considering the stuff Felicia had been through was also written in that article.
I don’t know. I can understand people unfollowing her if they didn’t want their young children to be exposed to all the controversy, but it’s still strange that everything Felicia received was hate messages.
Did everybody just skip over the part where the anonymous source stated that Felicia was violently forced to have an abortion by an ex-criminal and probably did so out of fear for her life? Yes, we know this is fake, but why didn’t anybody seem to mention this?
[...] they seem to have written this storyline with the idea in mind that the public was against the whole Kroon family. Felicia got comments such as “So fucking disappointed in you and your family”, “What a nasty fucking family”, “You and your family are so fucking disgusting”.
So I think Leila received plenty of hate for drinking instead of divorcing her husband sooner and basically turning a blind eye to all the problems her family went through. That’s what Jack told the press, at least.
The anger seemed to be directed towards every member of the Kroon family and that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Again, this is something the writers did to dramatize the situation and they kind of forgot to consider that what Jack actually told the journalist wasn't as incriminating for Felicia and Leila as it were for Mats and Elias.
The magic of season 3
What season 3 really excelled in, to me, was delving into some more serious topics as well as showing the gradual development of Amie and Elias' relationship. Amie and Elias are the prime example of how a slow burn is so much better than having a couple get together too fast, like Felicia and Ludde did back in season 1.
While season 3 was still airing, I wrote a post dedicated to questions I had received about Elias and Amie. Here's one of the things I said about them:
I think Elias’ interest in her really started to grow after he saw how caring Amie was to Felicia, and later on connecting with her on how they both ended up back in Oskarshamn after following their dreams which didn’t exactly turn out the way they expected. Yes, Elias has always sort of been watching and admiring Amie from afar, but that interest didn’t start growing until he actually got to know her.
The experiences they had in the US and Stockholm, respectively, probably changed their mindsets and in my opinion it makes so much more sense for them to get together now than it would’ve in season 1 or season 2.
I still believe that Elias and Amie are the best-written couple of the whole show (at least so far), because they just make sense. We'll see what season 4 has in store for them because we have yet to actually see them in a romantic relationship, but I feel like their personalities and characters just fit together really well.
Another thing I really appreciated was the depiction of Felicia and Ludde's declining relationship. Things like that happen so easily, and I liked how we see Felicia do this huge gesture of planning a picnic for Ludde in 3x04 but there were still underlying problems between them. It's like that in real life too—no matter how big of a romantic gesture you make, communication will always be the number one priority in any relationship and that's where Felicia and Ludde fall short.
The obvious disconnect between them when it comes to money is also important. It's been like this from the beginning, but season 3 gave us an actual conversation about it.
Felicia: Please, I can’t talk about this. Seriously. It was stupid of me to bring this up from the beginning. Fuck, I get such anxiety talking about the future—
Ludde: You get anxiety? I’m the one walking around with no money in my account. Mom and dad had to get a loan to pay off mine and Andreas’ fines. I’m playing on a shitty old synth, and living off you like some leech. That’s anxiety.
Felicia: Everything isn’t about money.
Ludde: Says the one who has money.
Felicia: Move out then, if it’s so fucking hard to feel like a leech.
This felt very realistic. Of course a person like Felicia wouldn't think money is everything when she's never experienced financial issues. She's able to move out into her own one-bedroom apartment as soon as she's turned 18, it seems, and doesn't worry at all about the cost of furnishing and decorating it. She didn't even pay for it herself, because Mats mentions he's the one on the mortgage loan. It seems like Felicia has never had an actual job either, and that's starting to worry her because she has no idea what she should be doing.
Felicia: [...] I don’t know what I’ll be or what I’ll do in the future. I don’t know that.
Ludde: You’re still an influencer—
Felicia: Don’t say I’m an influencer, please. Do you think I want to be that my whole life? It’s not even a career. I'm— I’m graduating next year, and I… My grades suck, and— I have no plan. I only have you. Not like that—I have you. That’s what I have. I want to be here, in Oskarshamn. I don’t want to go to the US and chase some dream and be a hockey wife. That’s not a life. Sometimes I wish neither of us had a plan, just us together here.
Felicia's character finally offers something interesting here, which I've waited for since season 1. She's not just a party girl anymore who has issues with drugs. She's a privileged teenager who is co-dependent on the guys she meets and who has anxiety about the future, to the point where she wishes she could stay in Oskarshamn in her little apartment forever stuck in limbo.
She has to face a harsh reality when Ludde decides to break up with her, and later on when her name is slandered in the press and people all over the country are sending her hate messages. Her own family is furious with her and Felicia has nobody. She's pushed away a lot of people and her mental state is just crumbling in front of our eyes.
It's a strong storyline and actually very well executed. Almost everything gets taken away from her, and at the end of 3x07 you can almost feel what Felicia is feeling. We've been with her through this whole journey, almost, and we understand why she feels like suicide is the only answer.
It's tough to watch that final scene of 3x07. It's greatly amplified by Alva Bratt's superb acting, but the writing of the journey there is also amazing. It's very difficult to write a sensitive storyline like this.
Overall, I don't have a lot of critique towards season 3. I loved most of the episodes. I elaborated on this further in a separate post:
[Episodes 3x04 and 3x05] showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don’t think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out).
I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. [...]
It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about.
I also loved the “non-date” between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn.
The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters [...] They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen.
However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it’s about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.
Eagles season 3 is in my opinion the best season of the show so far, and we haven't seen any signs suggesting that there is any reason for season 4 to not be even better.
Season 4: Hopes and wishes
Considering how each season has been increasing in quality bit by bit, I have pretty high hopes for the writing in season 4. I'm excited to see how the transition from teenager to young adult will be portrayed in the main characters, and what their future will hold for them after they've graduated.
My main questions are if Felicia and Ludde will find their way back to each other or if they'll remain broken up (that would be realistic as well), if Klara will reconcile with her mom, what's in store for Elias's hockey career, and if Amie will leave her label and maybe opt for something more independent.
I also want to see how Felicia deals with the new home she's checked in to, and if Ludde will in fact go to the school now that it seems Andreas will be getting into trouble again.
Amie and Klara are kind of wild cards here, because it somewhat feels like they've already reached their happy endings. Amie is famous and successful in her pop music career, and Klara has found her place as a businesswoman following in her father's footsteps. Maybe these developments should've come in season 4 instead of rushing them.
Nonetheless, I have faith in the writers. The writing suffered a little in seasons 1 and 2 but it has gotten better. Most of the things I pointed out about season 3 were just small details in an otherwise stellar season.
In conclusion...
This post was critical, but I tend to be critical of every show I watch. Eagles is still a very special show for me and having grown up in a Swedish small town myself I'm very fond of the show and its characters.
So huge thanks to the creator, Stefan H. Lindén, for making this show a reality and also to the director Carl-Petter Montell for contributing to the writing in season 3. And of course the writers of the show which include Michaela Hamilton, Fanny Ekstrand, and Anton Nyberg (plus Amanda Adolfsson who helped write 1x02 and 1x05 and Simon Ekbäck Nordström who is credited for helping with the hockey scenes in 3x05).
I hope you guys enjoyed this long, long post and major kudos to you if you read this far!
#eagles svt#svt eagles#eaglesspoilers#young royals#beartown#björnstad#been working on this post for a few days so i really hope you enjoy it!
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Lol shooting at a well known fucking terrorist isn’t being a islamophobe. Are you that fucking dense???
lol ok (link for source post) sure i’m the dense one. let’s do this, anon, i’m down for it. i tagged my post in his tag (link for my post) bc i knew someone would want to come making excuses So Bad about why it’s ok to shoot ‘a terrorist’.
let’s start with the most obvious point: we don’t know it’s osama bin laden in the photo. i didn’t even recognize it as osama bin laden when i first saw the photo, bc it’s fucking unclear and it looks like ‘generic islamophobic terrorist photo’. and i’m actually old enough to vividly remember the 9/11 attacks and the start of the war on terror, so i actually do remember photos of osama bin laden’s face being plastered everywhere as an excuse to attack brown people. but sure let’s pretend that nils hoglander, a man who wasn’t even one year old when 9/11 happened, who grew up in fucking backwoods sweden (the nordic country which was least involved in the ‘war on terror’ international coalitions; see: norway’s major involvement with troops & denmark’s major involvement with funding) — let’s naively believe this young man had the wherewithal to go to a shooting range in langley (one of the notably more centrist-to-conservative municipalities of the lower mainland) and tell them ‘oh no i won’t shoot at any brown people, Only The Known Terrorist’. let’s really, really dig our feet in and believe that.
so, 'oh it was only a well-known fucking terrorist, totally ok for ppl to shoot at vague brown faces if they think it's only a well-known fucking terrorist' -- we Really gotta keep re-learning about the issues of representation don't we?? so you genuinely believe that nils hoglander shooting at a face he 'knows' to be a terrorist is not at all going to affect how he treats brown people who look similarly. you're so sure that fans of his, many his age or younger, who weren't old enough to make the distinction between 'an identified terrorist' and 'any ol' brown person trying to live', are gonna see him using a brown man's face as shooting practice and it's totally ok. it's not gonna seat something in them that starts to identify brown faces as threats. they're not gonna go around being distrustful of everyone with a turban, since they're just obviously gonna know the difference between 'a terrorist's turban' and 'a good person's turban' (spoiler alert: they're not any different. a turban is a fucking turban is a fucking item of clothing that the white western world will throw on any brown male-presenting body to make it look like a threat). let's play naive again, let's say no genuinely nils would never do that he's horrified by the idea he has friends who are muslim oh no. do you think ppl seeing his posts who already skew islamophobic don't feel justified or supported by that? we live in the world where bush got re-elected (despite Massive displeasure against his administration prior) for starting 'a war on terror' against an entire region of people who sometimes share a religion (bc god knows we don't have the nuance to discuss the different sects that do not even closely align or the ethnic minorities & religious minorities of the arabian peninsula and north africa and the south asian sub-continent, since they get looped in by fucking racists too). we live in the world of facebook misinformation changing elections in front of our faces. and you think a celebrity posting about using a muslim man as shooting practice is not at all going to push give points to the 'it's ok to be assholes to brown people' side.
then, let's step back and think not at all about this fucking man child or his fans or the other racists and islamophobes who are gonna feel so warm and fuzzy about him. let's actually fucking talk about the brown people affected by islamophobia, because while it's shitty enough that it affects the average muslim who is again just fucking trying to live, it also affects countless people of similar phenotypical make-up bc orientalism says all brown people are interchangeable. hey, anon, did you know that nils posted that on his snapchat literally The Day that canucks had Diwali Night at rogers arena? hey, anon, do you know some cultures & religions that are made up predominantly of brown people and whose men (and sometimes women) wear turbans and who celebrate diwali? most notably, sikhs but also just many punjabi men, even those who are religiously non-practicing. let's put some pieces together -- do you think hoglander knows the difference between a muslim in a turban (who again shouldn't even be the baseline for what you think a terrorist looks like) and a sikh in a turban? moreover, do you think empowered racist canucks fans (bc there are gonna be shitty fans of anything, it happens) saw nils' snapchat story glorifying shooting brown people and didn't see all those random brown people who they don't see as human in rogers arena and think 'huh target practice'? i grew up in oklahoma, i grew up around gun culture, i know what these people talk about, i'm related to people who talk like that (and i'm a fucking person of color) -- and yeah, i know what they'd say. they'd say 'hey target practice'.
further on actually giving a fuck about brown people, do you think this doesn't scare muslim fans? (link for isbah's post, for the perspective of a muslim hockey fan) do you think this doesn't make more people who know they fit under the 'terrorist' appearance feel unsafe and un-fucking-welcome at games? but hey, hockey is for everyone right, as long as you don't mind sucking it the fuck up and having a stiff upper lip while you get treated like shit. hockey is for everyone as long as you're willing to bow and say thank you for your fucking scraps and as long as nils hoglander is only unknowingly perpetuating islamophobia and racism, it's not that big a deal. like goddamn, aily, loosen up and be grateful. i should try the bootlicking i hear it's in season.
so are you okay with all that? are you okay letting all that go? because i'm fucking not. and if the least i can do is raise a fucking fuss in the small corner of this hellsite i've established myself in, then yeah, actually thanks, i fucking will help myself.
#no please come again. i can and will stay mad forever. i can and will yell forever#and again: block or what the fuck ever bc i will keep being in this tag reminding y'all it isn't fucking ok#but hey what the fuck do i know with my fucking bookshelf on orientalism racism islamophobia and colonialism#asks#anonymous#aily talks#fuck it main tag here it goes#vancouver canucks#canucks lb#nils hoglander#nils höglander#*list
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Lost on You
Chapter 11
Peter Parker x Sister!Reader Steve Rogers x Reader Avenger x Reader; Hybrid Social Media AU
Series Masterlist
[a/n: PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE PAGE BREAK IMAGE! THIS IS A HYBRID CHAPTER!AFTER THE SECOND IMAGE READ THE TEXT! IF ON MOBILE I ADVICE NOT SWIPING THROUGH THE IMAGES! SPOILERS AHEAD!! ]
I walk into the lab that only contained Tony, as it's only a Sunday.
"Hey Tone," I greet him.
"Hey," he said stopping what he was working on, "So what's up? Coming to tell me you're quitting?"
"No," I lightly laugh, "Actually I was coming to tell you that I'm moving out."
"Moving out?" He asked, making sure he heard correctly.
"Yeah, moving out," I repeat, anxiously waiting for his reaction.
"What did Steve do?"
"Nothing," I say, "We actually talked, sort of, last night. Officially ended things and I woke up this morning feeling freer than I have felt in awhile, yet there still felt like something was holding me back.
"That's when I realized that I've never been on my own. I've never lived by myself, and I think right now is the prefect opportunity. To learn more about me, who I am outside of all of this," I gesture to the surroundings.
"I need to come home to an empty, quiet house. Read a book in quiet. Pick up a hobby,"
"A hobby?" He laughed.
"You know what I mean," I rolled my eyes, "I just need to be by myself. I'm 26 years-old, and I've never been independent, it's about time that I learn to be."
"I get it," he says, "Selfishly I would love to keep you here forever, but I knew even before all of this that that probably wasn't going to happen.
"You deserve to find your independence. I get living here won't allow that. It's practically a frat house with Sam and Bucky living here," he quietly laughs.
"Thank-you," I smile at him, feeling a sense of relief come through.
"I'm assuming you haven't found a place yet though," he says.
"You are correct," I laugh, "I just came up with this idea two hours ago. I'm sure you have a realtor that wouldn't mind helping find a place."
"I'll make some calls," he nods, "How quick do you want out?"
"As soon as I possibly can," I tell him, "The sooner I can be out of here, the more I can breathe."
"Got it," he gives me a thumbs up.
"I'm also assuming all of this came to you, after the fact you unpacked your room," he jokes.
"Yeah," I pause, "Do you think Harry will get mad if I ask him to help me move, again."
"Hey that kid is in love with you, I'm sure if you moved a hundred times over he'll be gladly to help," he laughs.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh please," he scoffs, "don't tell me you're that oblivious. The kid's got a thing for you."
"No he doesn't," I deny, "We've been friends since forever. I think I would've known."
"Plus, he was advocating for me and Steve to get back together," I tell him.
"Yeah, because he just wants to see you happy," he tells me, "The kid would watch you marry another man if all it meant was that you would be happy for the rest of your life."
"That's how friendships work Tony," I argue against what he's saying.
"Gosh Y/n," he shakes his head walking over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "This whole moving out thing is actually a good idea. Open your eyes more."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh you'll see," he laughs before getting back to his work.
I roll my eyes, and walk out of the lab.
Harry isn't in love with me. I roll my eyes.
An hour later and I got an email filled with new living options from Tony's realtor. I narrowed down the choices to the ones only in Manhattan. I can picture myself living there. It's young and youthful, and a lot of my old college friends live in the surrounding areas.
By the end of the night I had found a place that was perfect. I knew it was an impulsive move to make, especially since I haven't even seen the place, but I had a gut feeling. That's where I'm supposed to live.
By the time I was eating breakfast the next morning, I had gotten an email saying that it's all mine. I looked across the table at Wanda who was eating he oatmeal.
She glanced up at me.
"Why are you staring?" she asked me.
"I have to tell you something."
"That you and Steve had sex the other night? I already knew that," she says.
"What?" I asked taken back by that.
"My room is right next to yours," she says, "Don't worry, as soon as we heard where it was going we put headphones on.
"We?"
"Bucky and I," she says, looking down at her bowl putting another spoonful in her mouth.
"You and Bucky?" I tease, "When did that happen?"
"Three months ago," she whispered.
"Wait, what?" I asked shocked.
"Three months ago," she confessed, "Bucky and I have actually been seeing each other for three months. We've just been keeping it a secret. Which was easy since we were the only ones who lived on that side of the floor."
"Why did you guys hide it?" I asked.
"Honestly, it made it more exciting," she admits, causing both of us to burst into giggles.
Bucky and Sam walk in.
"What's so funny?" Sam asks.
"Does he know?" I ask Wanda, she shakes her head no.
"What, that you and Bucky have been going at it like bunnies when you think no one is around?" Sam says.
"You know?" Bucky says, spilling some of the coffee he was pouring.
"For a world class assassin, you sure are very vocal in bed," Sam teased.
"I-I" Bucky stuttered shocked at what Sam said, he looked over at Wanda.
Wanda shrugged her shoulders, "He's not wrong," she giggles, which causes all of us to laugh.
After a few moments everything had calmed down, and Sam and Bucky had joined us at the table.
"Wait, if that's not what you were going to tell me, what were you going to say?" Wanda asked
"Well since everyone will find out soon," I pause, "I'm moving out."
"What?" they all said in unison.
"You're moving out?" A voice asked from behind. I turned around to find Steve coming in from his morning run.
I cleared my throat before saying, "Yeah. I think it's time I live on my own."
"You don't like living with us?" Sam asked, "I mean I get not wanting to live with Bucky, he eats all your food."
"Dude, that was you," he quipped.
At that moment Natasha walked in with Tony by her side.
"This just got a lot more awkward," Sam whispered next to me.
"What happened?" Tony asked, noticing the silence.
"Perfect timing, I was actually just telling everyone about me moving out," I say, "Looks like everyone is here, so yeah. I'm moving out."
"Oh," Tony said, "I'm guessing they don't know when either."
"When are you moving out?" Steve asked.
"Soon," I announce, "Very soon. Found a place, it's really nice. It's in Manhattan. And the paperwork is all sorted."
"When the kid sets her mind to something, she goes above and beyond," Tony says trying to cut the tension, "Next time Pepper wants to move, I'm just going to have Y/n pick the place."
"When are you moving out?" Wanda asked.
"As soon as I'm packed," I say, looking at her apologetically.
"Does that mean you won't be going on missions anymore?" Natasha cautiously spoke up.
"No, I will," I say, "I'm still going to be working here and doing Avenger stuff, I just won't be living here. I need some space, no offense."
"We get it," Steve says with a small smile on his face, "You have to do what you have to do. We'll support it."
"Thank-you," I nod my head at him.
"So I guess you'll need some help to pack your room?" Wanda asked.
"Actually, I've got that taken care of," Tony speaks up, "Hired a company. It'll be easier that way to move things over to the new place."
"Well then," I say standing up and grabbing my plate and putting it in the sink, "I have some work I need to do in the lab. See you guys later."
I quickly made my way out of the room and to the lab. I was actually more thankful that everyone was around for the announcement, now I don't have to worry about telling anyone else. As I stand in the elevator, I can feel more of the weight lifted off my shoulders and that's a sign letting me know I'm doing the right thing.
Summary: Y/N Parker is Peter���s older sister. She is ten years older than Peter, making her 26 years-old. She is also an Avenger, her powers are very similar to Wanda’s; telekinesis, mind reading, teleportation, and elemental bending. She has been an Avenger far longer than Peter, and like Peter her identity is kept a secret. As well as being an Avenger she works in the lab alongside Tony, she is a science genius. She has also been dating Steve Rogers for the past 3 years. Their relationship is as great as it can possibly be, that is until Steve does something that has Y/n questioning not only their entire relationship, but her place in the Avengers. It opens her eyes to how much of her life has revolved around Steve and work. Never really experiencing life like everyone else her age has.
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