#at the end of episode 13 when it cuts between all the characters dramatically showing how scared and serious the situation is | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

transsexualhamlet · 3 years

Text

predictions for yuumori s2 (as a manga reader)

No matter what happens, this is probably gonna end up aging badly, but i’m hyperfixating and I’ve decided to make it everyone else’s problem so I’m going to predict where they’re gonna go with s2 of moriarty the patriot (keep in mind i’m writing this as of episode 2) and what I think would be the ideal scenario, in the likely situation that this is the last season.

So we can tell a lot about what they’re going to cut/include from the opening and ending, and the first two episodes.

Observations/Conclusions:

-moneypenny and most likely von herder are gone, already evidenced by the first 2 episodes, which is :( but understandable bc there’s only so much space and they’re definitely cutting the arcs where they would be important

-so that means no moran backstory because duh, there’s a point in the backstory and i see value in it, moran slaps when he’s not being an ass lmao, but again, time constraints

-no matter what I can’t see them keeping in the like, child hunting thing 2 electric boogaloo, even tho it did further Fred’s and Louis’ characters, since they’ve previously cut out stuff considering them and. You know. That’s how it be.

-You can see they’re including jack the ripper arc (considering, jack is in the opening) and I have faith that they can downsize the arc without butchering it if they do it right. This is good that they’re keeping it in, considering it’s one of the... main arcs not involving milverton that advances the plot.

-Major thing we can tell is that, yeah, Milverton is nowhere to be seen. It seems like this would fuck things up bad since he’s like, the only kind of “main villain” we get here. But honestly? I agree with that. Fuck Milverton. He has no character or motivation and is like my one and only bone to pick with the manga. He’s just there to suck ass and create plot convenience?? I don’t like him and he never needed to be there if he wasn’t at least going to do something interesting. I support the anime cutting him.

-That DOES fuck over their ability to do the white knight arc, since, well, milverton is the cause of all of that. And this is the one thing I really don’t know what they’re going to do with that to connect jack the ripper directly to the final problem. I can’t predict that, but I do think there are ways it can be done that won’t be Awful.

-So considering that, Mary’s arc is definitely axed, which doesn’t bother me that much since by that point i so impatient for gay people and really didn’t care about watson’s fiance even tho she is a lovely lady. For anime effect, she does not need an arc, though I could see them having her show up a few times so watson doesn’t seem too gay either lmao.

-They’re definitely shooting to end with the final problem, considering without it there’s no big culminating event between moriarty and sherlock, which is obviously the big sell. And well. It’s. Um. The final problem.

The season says it’s slated to be 13 episodes, since s1 didn’t have enough time for 12. I honestly think they can manage it all, if they play their cards right.

Outlook:

This whole potential situation does sound familiar, I’ll point out that I just arrived here after the shit show of the promised neverland’s second season. But I don’t think it will get bad like tpn did. Because in Moriarty, they could afford to cut things because there are many stand alone and disposable arcs, whereas tpn really shouldn’t have, since they pretty much all contributed later to Major Main Character Plot Things. And the important points of the arcs that they’ll probably cut can actually be written into existing ones without looking like plot convenience, in my vision of it.

Honestly, I’m pretty optimistic for moriarty, it works better for this kind of adaption than in a lot of other manga that end up getting these most likely two season adaptions. I’d love to get those arcs for the servant’s and other character’s developments of course, but trying to stick that in when there’s really only time to focus on the main characters would suck up time better spent on really getting deep into the main storyline. Even if there are less characters, in a situation like this a streamlined and nuanced story will look elegant, whereas shoving as much content as possible into a few short episodes makes everyone cringe.

The situation does end up looking like the promised neverland, but it has a chance to be significantly less fucked considering,,, well,,, tpn is an insanely low bar, and they will hopefully not make the promised neverland’s same mistakes of Shove Seventeen Plotlines Into One Episode After Realizing Belatedly They Actually Needed Those Parts.

Obviously I don’t know what will happen, and this will be outdated by sunday lmao, but my projection looks something like this for 13 episodes to conclude the show.

Predictions:

(Episodes 1+2: A Scandal in the British Empire)

Episode 3: I’m very anxious for 3 considering this will probably make or break my opinion on the anime. Ideally, this episode would wrap up the scandal arc and go over the whole James Bond thing, it could be pretty baller and fit well into an episode. But though there’s plenty of Irene in the opening, there’s no sight of Bond, so considering anime as a whole is fucking transphobic, they might try to change it, twist around bond’s words or just, gloss over it altogether. If they cut it, they might have time to squeeze in another arc but I don’t think they honestly need to? With what they seem to be keeping in, they’ll have ample time to get to everything, and it would be shorter anyway considering the smaller amount of servants.

Here, we do definitely need to cover Sherlock’s “receiving the name of the lord of crime and deciding to burn it and find it out himself because he’s extra”, no matter the status of irene/bond’s gender. If they do that right and possibly change a few things so it’s more important, this could play into them moving forward his whole discovery of their secrets.

Episodes 4-7: These will most likely cover jack the ripper arc. There’s a lot to go over here, and I’m confident they can cut it down, because tbh Moriarty is pretty long winded for a manga and cutting things is good to an extent. This covers most of the major expansions on William’s ideas and plans, and definitely has the holes to stuff in more of the points made in the arcs that will be cut out. Though I have my reservations, they could plausibly take most points in white knight and integrate them into here.

Episodes 8-10: These are the ones that are going to take the most work and probably be the most changed. They should finish up the ripper arc in 7, give or take a few episodes, and then here, If Sherlock has a little more figured out from episode 3, he can look deeper. I think it’s honestly a good idea for the one to discover the Incriminating Records to be him, as it again gives them more connection. There needs to be some other reason Moriarty’s secrets are in danger of getting leaked to the paper, but I’m sure they can put something together with scotland yard or something, or even like, Mycroft. I see that. But if that happens, then we can spend an episode or so on the merchant of london, aka little liam commits girlboss, which can be woven into the idea of everything Coming Out.

Episodes 11-13: Final problem. I see this going mostly unchanged, up until 55. Truth is they’ll probably end up cutting something but hmm. I don’t know. They should keep the fred stuff in, since they’ll cut his other development. They should keep the squad asking sherlock for help, since they cut the other parts that highlight the crime squad’s care for him. But I think they could montage most of the William Goes French Revolution On You Hoes, even the part where the kids come in front of one of them, if you see what’s going on right. But everything can proceed as in the manga pretty smoothly, I think, it all makes sense if they put it together in 7-10. You know, you got somehow, the worst case happens, and boom, scandal, final problem enacted. Killing spree. William reveals he’s been emo this whole time but it’s too late now. Everyone scrambling to catch up with his damn plans. Gay boy knocking on 221B with a fucking love letter. Shit gets found out. And then... well, yuh.

Disclaimer I still don’t know everything about this, bc I cannot find a translation of 54, only the raw with no context, and I know there’s content after 55 but I can’t find that either. But I’m sure as hell an english major and can understand where things are probably going. I don’t know what’s involved at that point, and if there’s some plan detailed to save him or something. That’s the main thing I don’t know, and if there is one detailed of course that kind of changes everything, but for now I’m going on the assumption that 54 is “sherlock runs to the bridge and yells at liam to stop being a dramatic whore while london burns around them and the murder squad watches anxiously with mysterious intent, until it is chapter 55″. (IF Y’ALL HAVE THE ENGLISH PLEASE HMU) They better not TOUCH anything in 55 or so help me god.

But as to after 55, things are going to be different. Besties, I’m an optimist, but there’s no way they’ll make a season after this. It does appear that they’ve mostly wrapped up, and they’ve gotten through what Big Revals they plan on doing. The shit hinted from the beginning has happened, and there probably won’t be enough to create another, unless the author plans on fucking shit up again, which I don’t approve of. There are a few things still left unsaid, like, Liam’s real name and everything, but if it’s supposed to be important, things that small can 100 percent be written into this.

And as something that’s intending to finish up a story, depending on what manga canon really is (BESTIE I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS) they might change it. There’s two options, a bittersweet/hopeful and a tragic one, but either one will end up open ended, because of my extensive knowledge of 2 season animes with significantly longer mangas. (done badly: tokyo ghoul and tpn, done well: owari no seraph and mob psycho) Either we have it like well, oh damn, everything was destined to be Sad but well you’re with him now you’re probably dead, but you know there’s something hinted at and you don’t know for sure so that’s the catch. So you get a vague and bittersweet but possibly hopeful ending. OR something that takes,,, whatever ends up happening in the manga or whatever the plan is and turning it into an epilogue infodump.

I can see either going well depending on how they handle the messages of the story. But yeah, as far as to my extent of the understanding of the show, that’s how it’ll probably go, and what my opinion of how it should is.

To What Extent Will The Gay:

You know, this is my ideal scenario within these time limits, but you know they could always go The Wrong Direction if the anime team took a look at some of the later chapters and went “holy shit this is a bit too gay” and try to axe some of the sherliam content, which I wouldn’t put past any corporation.

In the case that they do, I see lot of good shit going. They’re clearly trying to do the final problem, so they obviously can’t cut out 55, which is good :). But though 55 is clearly, uh, really fucking homosexual, the most romantic shit goes down in 53, as far as I can tell? (keeping in mind i still haven’t found 54′s english version, if anyone would like to direct me to a translation, that would be LOVELY.) I unfortunately can see them cutting Liam’s letter almost entirely, and that kind of scares me.

You know, even if i’d hate and slander them for it, cutting out james bond would be something i would understand. But messing with sherliam would fuck them over, not just cause that would be awful, but like, because it’s like... kind of the main point.

So I’m not really too worried about them messing with it, mostly because the content itself is holding them at gunpoint, sherliam holds the whole plot structure in place, especially if you’re shooting for final problem. And even in the manga they never, like, actually say they’re in love with each other even tho historically gay lovers would probably call each other “friends” lmao so it’s not like they have to greenlight gay sex or anything lmao it’s just Very Romantic (No Homo)

And apart from that, yuumori has actually been pretty decent to the gays so far?? Damn shawty, they certainly haven’t toned down the gay yet and it’s clearly their main source of fans, and what they’ve decided to emphasize in both openings and a significant portion of the s2 ending. We’re all here for it, and they’re catering to it, so I can at least give you that.

#moriarty the patriot #yukoku no moriarty #rowan's hyperfixation essays #sherliam #Holy Shitte this is long #watch me find 54 and immediately change my stance on all of this #or something idk #watch this whole thing be irrelevant in half a week #HHHHHHHH #if it doesn't go exactly like this i will lose my mind lmao

29 notes · View notes

catie-does-things · 4 years

Note

I can't fully commit to shipping Zutara, but your meta has definitely changed my tune on Zutara vs Kataang. Out of genuine curiosity however, say you were on the writing team and had to go along with making kataang canon, what would you have done to help rewrite the ship to make it better (I know you say that Katara doesn't get much out of their relationship, so what would she get out of the relationship?) (You can point me to a fic if that you've written about this already elsewhere).

To be honest, if I really could change anything at all, the very first thing I would do would probably be to make Aang and Katara the same age - either by making Aang older or Katara younger, but preferably the former. 12 and 14 is just an extremely awkward gap in maturity. I suppose if you wanted to keep the age difference but bump them both up a year or two that could also solve this problem. Or make them both 13. Whatever.

But more than just their actual ages, they would need to be written as emotional equals. When Katara mentions her mother’s death in The Southern Air Temple, for example, Aang should take more notice of this and make an explicit show of sympathy, rather than being solely focused on his own hopes for what he’ll find at the air temple the way he is in the actual episode. There are tons of opportunities for little tweaks like this throughout the show, and it wouldn’t have to be done every single time, but basically we would need to see Aang expressing understanding and emotional support for Katara in the same way she does for him.

To look at one more example, in The Serpent’s Pass, we see Aang still struggling with losing Appa and emotionally withdrawing from the rest of the group because of it. Katara notices this and is concerned about him, especially when Aang rejects her attempts to comfort him. This is resolved following the birth of the refugee couple’s baby, after which Aang says:

I thought I was trying to be strong. But really I was just running away from my feelings. Seeing this family together, so full of happiness and love, it's reminded me how I feel about Appa ... and how I feel about you.

And then they hug it out. It’s a sweet scene. But it’s all about Aang and Aang’s feelings, and it didn’t have to be that way. Aang could have also said something to the effect that he realized the strain his emotional distance put on Katara, and that it was unfair to her. This would have validated Katara’s feelings as well as his own, and shifted the focus away from being only about him.

Of course, if you’ve read my meta on The Southern Raiders, I talked a lot in that post about how Aang’s attempts to offer Katara moral guidance and emotional support in this episode came off as really immature and ineffective. This episode would probably need the most in-depth re-write to “fix Kataang”, but off the top of my head some things I’d change: Get rid of Aang’s initially dismissive attitude towards Katara’s desire to confront her mother’s killer, make his attempt at empathy focus more on the genocide of the Air Nomads and less on losing Appa, cut the false equivocation between Katara and Jet, have Aang present the concept of forgiveness in more nuanced terms, and maybe even have Aang go with Katara and Zuko to create more opportunities for him to offer her the emotional support that, in the episode as is, she’s only getting from Zuko.

And then I did briefly suggest a tweak to The Ember Island Players in this meta post. Basically, use the concept of the characters reviewing their past adventures to push Katara closer to realizing her own feelings for Aang - though she can still have reservations about the timing - instead of making her seem more confused than ever. And yeah, if we want this to be a fairly straightforward romance arc where they can just kiss at the end of the finale and that’s a satisfying resolution, then we should cut the entire balcony scene between Aang and Katara in this episode so as not to complicate things unnecessarily.

(If we do keep the balcony scene, then we need to make room for a follow up on it at some point where Aang apologizes for not respecting Katara’s boundaries.)

I could list a bunch of other little things I’d change (for example, in The Fortune Teller, have Katara make the connection that Aang is a powerful bender on her own, rather than because Sokka points it out), but none of them individually would make or break the ship. The general guiding principle is that Katara’s feelings need to be given the same narrative weight as Aang’s, which means they need to be more upfront, and Aang needs to be more supportive overall.

That is of course a lot of changes. If I had to “fix Kataang” by making just one change, it would probably be to cut the problematic scene in The Ember Island Players, which would still leave us with a one-sided narrative of the relationship, but at least one that didn’t undermine itself at the eleventh hour for no reason. In my personal opinion, however, while either approach to “Kataang done right” would be better than what we got, both would still fall short of the narrative strength and dramatic impact of Zuko and Katara’s relationship exactly as it was in canon, so there would still probably be a huge number of Zutara shippers.

#anti kataang #avatar the last airbender #anonymous #catie answers things #atla meta

234 notes · View notes

aer-in-wanderland · 3 years

Photo

구미호뎐 | 김범 - Kim Beom ‘Lee Rang Talk’ Instagram LIVE 2020.12.01

In which Kim Beom addresses fan questions and comments he searched the internet for personally, entirely of his own accord. #Bless ♡♡♡

Time signatures are from this recording uploaded to youtube -> [x]

Because the LIVE was quite long (nearly an hour) I’ve selected out questions and topics that I thought were interesting. For the parts that I omitted, I’ve left time signatures and brief descriptions of what was discussed. If there’s a topic you're curious about that I haven’t included here, feel free to send me an ask. Finally, because the sound quality isn’t the best and he’s sitting back from the camera, there were a few words here and there that I had trouble making out. Sorry in advance!

Introduction & Greeting

Yes, hello! This is actor Kim Beom. And I’m Lee Rang. Before the final episode, before the final week’s broadcast, I wanted to greet you all directly, so I’ve appeared like this dressed as Lee Rang. And...right now you can think of me as someone somewhere in between Kim Beom and Lee Rang.

To be honest, there’s no decided format. I just went and looked up the things you all were curious about on my own. It could be a bit incoherent, but I hope you’ll enjoy watching. Also, I think there are fans who are worrying how I’ll do a LIVE, since I don’t really know how to, and I haven’t even been on Instagram that long, but actually, in order to do this, I spent the weekend writing the script myself (holding up his cue cards). I wrote the script myself. Actually, yesterday I also had a meeting about how to do an InstaLive, so I hope you’ll enjoy watching.

[0:01:22~0:02:20] Greeting to international fans in English

[I was impressed by his English here. You can tell he isn’t just reading off his cue cards but actually knows what he’s saying by the way he self-corrects.]

[0:03:00(3:30)~0:05:05] Let Rang eat!

[0:05:10~0:08:04] Re: Color of clothing

Ah! There were a ton of comments about clothing color as well. Uh...I also read a lot of comments where you all were analyzing various things. And, well, a certain amount of it was really accurate...I was really thankful and also fascinated to see that it seemed like you all picked up on some of the things I had put thought into. For example, in the early part of the show when I appeared in red clothes, in a suit, of course there was also the fact that I was making an effort to exude the feeling of a villain, but the other piece that I had been thinking of was that, because there were a ton of scenes in the forest, in the forest on the island, I wanted a color that contrasted with green, so I looked for that sort of complementary color.

Uh...so, for the case of Forest of the Starved, as with wearing red in the forest in the early episodes, I intentionally wore camel colored clothes and such. Uh...and because it was running, because a lot of the scenes in the Forest of the Starved were of us running, for visual purposes, the director proposed that we wear long clothes, so I wore a long trench coat and such. Also, for scenes that involved a lot of CG, we also, from a technical standpoint, for those bits with hyung...we wore a lot of colors excluding blue and green.

Also, what else is there? Ah! The white clothes. There weren’t many scenes where I wore white clothing, but....very simply, in scenes where I bled (chuckling) so that the blood was easily visible...I wore a white shirt and such. One of the comments I read that really stuck with me was, ‘learned...learned pervert’ (laughing). That I was a learned person. I also had input here, and my stylist team also had the same thought, so....(very quietly) I was called a ‘learned pervert.’ Yes.

Also...That’s right. A lot of what you all thought was really spot on. So I was also really fascinated and I thought, ‘Wah~ They even notice those sorts of things, I have to prepare even more diligently in the future,’ and for me, personally...from my standpoint as Kim Beom, I think this was the most costume fittings I’ve ever done. I also did a lot of test filming during the fittings. A JDG hyung who I’m close with and who is a photographer did a lot of test filming for me and really helped me a lot in the process of making Lee Rang. Oh, and also, in the process of doing tests for Lee Rang, perhaps because I took a liking to his image, I changed my profile picture for the first time in 10 years. I also changed my signature papers. It’s now Lee Rang, it’s Lee Rang’s image. I want to hurry up and provide you all with signatures too (laughs). Is this how I’m supposed to do this? I don’t know... (chuckles)

[0:08:05~0:09:12] Re: Movements & gestures

Ah, and also about movements and gestures and such...you talked especially a lot about things like me sleeping curled into a ball that got broadcast not too long ago. I saw a picture of me curled up asleep put next to an image of a fox sleeping, like this. Yes, that’s correct. From the very beginning I talked about wanting to give off the image of a fox, of a baby fox [glances to his staff] What? Show them? (chuckles) Like this, (does the gesture) sort of curled up sleeping. Foxes all sleep curled up, it turns out. So, there was an image of me curled up sleeping and, it should show up in the final episode, but there’s an image of me sitting curled into myself as well. When I’m sitting curled into a ball, even down to my toes I’m sort of, like this (does the gesture). Sitting like this was also something I did in order to give the impression of a fox.

Aside from that, in the action sequences as well, if you look closely you can see that while people swing their fists like this, we made gestures, actions, like raking our claws. I think those sorts of things helped to make the character of Lee Rang, and also the gumiho, the other gumihos, so I was also really pleased while doing it. Yes. And I was even more thankful that the viewers picked up on that.

[0:09:17~0:11:00] Re: Ad libs

The ad libs...for the ad libs as well, many people are asking just how much is ad libbed, especially since Yeon-ie hyung [Lee Dong Wook] is extremely good at ad libs and does them a lot. If you watch the behind the scenes videos and such, you can see the actors acting opposite him being caught off guard a lot. Hyung’s ad libs looked really cool to me, so I actually tried to emulate him a lot, but for that, it’s not possible with just your average [comedic/dramatic] sense. It’s the sense of someone who’s over a thousand years old, so one ad lib I made with the sense of a 600 year old was...there was one that was broadcast not long ago: “I’m warning you~~.” ‘I’m warning you~’ is an ad lib (laughs).

The original line was...what was the original line again? (checks his cue cards) Ah, well, it was a line to the effect of, ‘don’t make me laugh’ or something like that, but seeing hyung saying ‘I’m warning you,’ I had the thought that it would be good if I teased him, so I was like, ‘I’m warning you~~’ as an ad lib. Also, in the café scene where we met after I returned from nearly dying, the drink hyung gave me was...there was a multi-colored drink, and for that, originally in the script it just said, ‘It’s tasty right? Have some, it’s tasty,’ or something like that, but hyung saying, ‘Have some, it’s rainbow flavored,’ was also hyung’s ad lib. And well, it didn’t appear in the broadcast, but I called it unicorn flavored. I think it was cut from the broadcast because it would have left people wondering ‘has he tried eating unicorn before?’

Those sorts of things...I also really learned a lot, I think, while doing them, such as hyung’s ease and whatnot. I was really jealous and he looked really cool. It came up in our lines too, but hyung always looked like he was shining brightly; he looked really cool.

[0:11:00~0:12:31] Re: Hyung Lee Dong Wook

To tell you more about hyung, hyung is...while being extremely sensitive, he’s the type to look after the other party in a brusk manner. For me personally, when I was studying and making Lee Rang’s character, I don’t think it would have been possible without hyung’s help. At first, I also...for the first time in a while I wore the clothes of another character and stood before the camera, and until that point I really had a lot of concerns and worries, but hyung gave me advice and really cheered me on a lot from the standpoint of an actor who has walked this path a little farther than me. So he was really a great help, and a source of strength, and whenever we were on set and there was something I didn’t know, I’d go ask hyung. Also, when I was agonizing over something, hyung would come over to me first and ask me if he could help, he was like that.

And aside from that, the director, and the writer...Actually, Lee Rang’s tails have never appeared on screen, but in any case, Lee Rang should also have nine tails, right? There are nine. I have nine tails, but one of those was given to me by hyung. And one by the director, and one by the writer, and many others besides. Because they gave me tails, I was able to become a gumiho with nine tails, that’s the feeling I get. Yes.

[0:13:06~0:14:03] Re: Lee Rang’s Necklace

Ah! That’s right. There were also people who were curious about this necklace, wondering if this...if this wasn’t symbolic of something. In fact, in the beginning I had also thought that far. I thought of using it to express Lee Rang’s signature or something, so at first when he transformed I had gotten rid of it. Like when I appeared with glasses on (leans forward to show off the necklace better) this. It’s this necklace, but for my first transformation when I appeared with glasses, or...at those times I purposefully removed the necklace, but later on when I, when I transformed into hyung, if I wasn’t wearing it....if I was wearing it! I worried that you all would notice. You’re all extremely observant. Like gumihos. So in the end I decided to just leave this as fashion.

[Note: This doesn’t fully make sense to me in terms of wearing it or not, but I double-checked and I translated everything exactly as he said it.]

[0:14:02~0:14:53] Re: Transformations

And since we’re on the subject of transformations, I’m always being found out and saying, ‘Ah that damn dress code...’ and such, but, everyone, I’m not being found out. Lee Rang isn’t so foolish and incompetent. Conversely, in order to mess with people more, he’s intentionally giving them a hint. So he’s being like... ‘Even if I do this will they not notice? Will they not notice?’ by intentionally giving them a hint with his shoes. And so, for Ji Ah, and for Sajang, that was me intentionally giving them a hint, and in fact wanting them to realize. While being like ‘if you figure this out then I’ll have to mess with you even more,’ I’d then mess with them more. And so, conversely, when I transformed into hyung to fool Sajang, I fooled him perfectly didn’t I? I’m not such an incompetent person as that.

[0:14:55~0:16:05] Re: Romance

There are many people who are extremely curious about Lee Rang’s romance as well, but actually, romance [for Rang] didn’t appear in our Tale of the Nine Tailed. Because his love for hyung is so great. And his love for Yoo Ri was also somewhat different from the love between a man and a woman. It was a familial love, and also a love that came from wanting to fill the void, it was that sort of love. Uh....I saw someone say something like this. Mm...when Yeon-ie hyung falls in love it’s to this extent, but if Rang-ie, who is a rule-breaker, who ignores all the rules, were to fall in love, the earth would probably have been destroyed. Or at the very least, Korea would have been destroyed. haha Someone said that, but I think that probably would have been the case. If he had directed his love not at his hyung but at a woman, because Rang-ie isn’t afraid of his hyung, or the afterlife, or even hell, I feel like he would have had that sort of a [world-ending] romance.

[0:16:48~0:17:37] Re: Lee Rang’s fortune (wealth)

[0:17:38~0:18:19] [Reading and responding briefly to live comments]

[0:18:32~0:19:24] Q: Would Lee Rang have dreamed of being either a full fox or a full human?

Ah...this was a very sad question. [Rang is] a half-human, half-supernatural, but would he have dreamed of being a full gumiho, would he have dreamed of being a full human? There was talk to that effect. Uh...I think Rang-ie wouldn’t have wanted to be either. On the supernatural side as well, because he’s a half-supernatural...I don’t imagine he’d have been welcomed, and among humans, because he has supernatural blood, we also saw him being mistreated a lot. But then, amongst all of that, my one and only source of support was my hyung. And I think that’s why [Rang] was so obsessed with his hyung. I think he probably wouldn’t have wanted to belong to either side. Because he’s that sort of free spirit. Yes, that’s what I think.

[0:19:30~0:19:58] Re: Lee Rang’s Favorite Food

Q: If Lee Rang had a favorite food like Lee Yeon’s mint chocolate, what would it be?

His favorite food is, you all may already know this, but it’s alcohol. Rang was always together with alcohol, and he was a character who goes well with alcohol. Somehow...it was like how lonely people reach for alcohol. I think it would have been that sort of feeling. It always kept him company, in place of his hyung (chuckles). That sort of, that sort of...his favorite food is alcohol, yes.

[0:20:02~0:20:50] Re: Favorite fan comments/Not a baby

[0:21:00~0:21:46] Q: Spicy fox [i.e. fox with an attitude/a bite] vs. baby fox?

[0:21:47~0:0:22:39] Q: The most dangerous gumiho or the most endangered gumiho?

[0:22:45~0:23:34] Q: Favorite Lee Rang look/style?

[0:23:41~0:25:10] Q: Good vs Evil?

Ah, and, there was also a question about what percent of good versus evil exists inside of me, but...I also really thought hard about it when I received this question. Rang-ie was a very kind child when he was young, who couldn’t even pick a flower...he was a kind child who couldn’t even kill a bug, but then, that sort of...should I call it societal evil? Due to some misunderstandings and...painful times, he gradually begins to ‘live devoting himself to evil,’ there’s that expression, in Korea. I think all of that evil would have seeped into him. So while at first he would have been 80-90% good, even so...mm~ at 51 to 49%, wouldn’t 51% of him be good? That slight bit that he tries not to lose. Because evil, because the side of evil kept pulling at me, whether that be Imoogi, or Sajang, unavoidably evil would have pulled at me, but...I get the sense that Rang-ie, to the very end, wouldn’t have given up the good in him...Nn? [Staff catches his eye] Yes, so that’s why it’s (???)* hehehe Oh? (???)* Sorry. Hahaha Ah, sorry. I just startled myself as well. [Pointing at his staff] Your face has turned red!

[Note: The expression he uses for ‘to the end’ here could either be used literally or figuratively. So obviously he accidentally gave a huge spoiler, but if he - or rather, his staff - hadn’t reacted so much it might have just been glossed over. Also, I think he’s using terms associated with a video game here which is why I’m having trouble parsing the blanks.]

[0:25:12~0:26:56] Kim Beom reminisces about his time with TotNT

[0:27:05~0:27:43] Re: Stickers

Ah! There was also talk about the stickers. Hahaha Uh...for the stickers as well, of course, in the script it was simply expressed as, ‘Rang, who is asleep covered in stickers,’ but actually, what stickers got stuck where was something that I decided myself. So I tried sticking a lightning bolt to my forehead, and, I’m not sure if it was visible in the broadcast, but the earring (the star on his ear) was a reference to the character So Yi Jeong that I played back in the day [Note: this is a reference to his character in Boys Over Flowers (2009)]. Well, I’m the type to overthink things like that, so hehe. I think a lot.

[0:27:45~0:28:56] Re: Soo Oh

[0:29:12~0:30:00] Q: Are you more of an older or younger brother type?

For that question...whether that question was a question for Kim Beom or for Lee Rang, I actually wasn’t sure, but someone asked, ‘Are you someone who is suited to being an older brother or someone who is suited to being a younger brother?’ Uh....to answer as Rang, Rang is of course more suited to being a younger brother, it fits his natural tendencies. That Kim Beom guy,* I mean, Kim Beom is... (chuckling under his breath) ‘that Kim Beom guy’ what am I saying? Kim Beom is...more suited to being an older brother, he has that aptitude, that inclination I think.

[*Note: When said this I burst out laughing. The literal expression is, ‘that chingu (friend) called Kim Beom,’ and it’s just not a way that you would ever refer to yourself. He said he was somewhere in between Lee Rang and Kim Beom, and it really feels like that here haha]

[0:30:12~0:31:10] Re: Nicknames

And, well....If Lee Rang, if there is a nickname that Rang-ie likes or a nickname that remained with him [what would that be]? A whole lot of people also wrote to me with that question. The overseas fans have also been calling me ‘baby fox’ (said in English), and that was really amusing. Uh...also, well, ‘baby fox’ (in Korean), and things like ***** [Note: he censored himself here so I’m not actually sure what he said other than that it’s rude haha], I really had a lot of fun seeing them. Like, these people who, if I met them in real life, would say, ‘Spare me!’ and run away were treating me like a baby... (nodding to himself). It was funny (chuckles).

[Reading the chat] People keep commenting ‘baby fox’ (in English) hahaha

And so I also, later on....Somehow, at first I thought, ‘Huh?’, but then later on it was something that really made me feel good...(nodding) It was funny. (chuckles)

[0:33:30~0:33:57] Re: Mountain God Lee Rang?

Q: If Lee Rang ever became a mountain god, what sort of world would he have created?

I probably would have made a wonderland for hyung, right? For hyung’s sake alone. So that hyung could enjoy himself, I would have tried making this and that....to make hyung smile once. I feel like that’s what I would have done, and because of that, because [Rang is] that sort of simple guy, he probably wouldn’t have become a mountain god, right? I’m good being a mountain god’s younger brother...

[0:33:58~0:34:54] Re: Rang’s name

Also, Ah~ things related to Rang’s name, too. To my knowledge, the name ‘Rang’ was bestowed by his hyung. So originally he was a half-human, half-supernatural who didn’t even have a name, who was also abandoned by his family. He had been lonely like that, so it was probably hyung who gave it to him. The name ‘Rang’ means ‘shining.’ Most likely, at that time, wouldn’t he have really cried a whole lot? From happiness. Seeing as he continued using the name Rang, seeing as he continued using it for 600 years. If he had disliked it, he probably would have changed it, so he really took a liking to it. It was probably a happy time where he thought, ‘Now I too have a name~’ That’s right.

[0:35:11~0:36:39] Re: Spin-off

Ah! And also, there was the spin-off to talk about, right? In another world, in a slightly wider world, uh...there was a spin-off telling my story, and to be honest it was an extremely new attempt, and I also, at first, I approached it as an answer and a gift in response to all of the love that so many people had sent. Uh...thanks to that, I think it was nice that I was able to show you Lee Rang from another point of view, and I actually worried about it a great deal.

Uh...Rather than our existing team, another spin-off team did the filming for us, and so I worried a lot. Because it wasn’t our team. But, they very diligently, and well...shot it for us. And for me, because many people supported us, thankfully, compared to what I had been worried about, I think it worked out well. Actually, when I was really at the end of my rope from worrying so much, I called hyung [Lee Dong Wook] from set, from the spin-off set, to say that I was worried, and I also met up with him in person, and the director [Kang Shin Ho], I told him I was worried. In the off chance that the fans of the Tale of the Nine Tailed main series might hate it, I was really very worried. But hyung really comforted me a lot, and told me it was cool, so that made me feel really good.

[0:36:41~0:37:28] Re: Yoo Ri (Kim Yong Ji)

Also...I have to talk about Yoo Ri too, don’t I? Our Yoo Ri. Our Yoo Ri...from the very first time I met her she seemed like Yoo Ri. She was really really like a gumiho, like a fox. Like someone of mixed race. In reality, too, we met up recently and were eating together when she told me this. People from Russia are actually sending her DMs, she said. Asking if she’s really a mixed-blood Russian. Hearing that was so funny that I remember we both burst out laughing. But to that extent Yoo Ri [Kim Yong Ji] is that much like Yoo Ri, even when you see her in real life. And also, because she became such a perfect Yoo Ri when we were working, from the very beginning she was very reliable to film with, and I think I was also really able to immerse myself while filming.

[0:37:29~0:38:01] Re: Shin Joo (Hwang Hee)

And also, Shin Joo hyung, too. Actually...I didn’t have that many scenes in common with Shin Joo, but we became so close on set that later on - ah! Actually it’ll probably appear in tomorrow’s episode. Me and hyung [Hwang Hee] (catches the staff’s eye, raises his eyebrows, and then censors himself).....have a scene together, and you’ll probably get to see a very different Lee Rang, a very cheerful, uh...Lee Rang will appear, so I hope you enjoy watching it.

[0:38:31~0:40:00] Re: CG

Ah, and also, we can’t not talk about the CG. Because, in a sense, it was one of the biggest aspects of our genre, from the first time we started filming we did a whole lot of tests. I think, in any case, we worried that those who see a lot of (computer graphics? - sorry, I’m actually unsure of this word) would feel that something was off, so we tried once using actual contact lenses, and also tried using actual (physical) tails. And for things like the Imoogi special effects makeup, it was a combination of makeup and CG that came to be through the help of truly a lot of people. My eye, and also hyung’s tails, and our abilities, Imoogi’s skin. I’d like to take the opportunity here to thank everyone involved once again. For giving me such a cool eye. I also, while watching the broadcast, was like, ‘Wah!’

Hm... also, I think my only having one eye that changed was probably the director’s idea. Because I’m a half-blood, in any case, his opinion was that it would be nice if only one eye changed, so I was able to have a really cool eye (leans close to the screen with a wild Lee Rang smile and then sits back chucking). It would be nice if it changed, but I’m unable to change my eye by myself (chuckles).

[0:40:05~0:42:00] Re: Stunts/action sequences

And our stunt team, our action team as well. We can’t not talk about them. I’m reminded of the first time, the times we went to action school to practice martial arts. From when we first began action practice, I would coordinate the timing with hyung [Lee Dong Wook] and we would go and practice together. So from the beginning, until we had created the action that would suit our characters, we went several several times for several hours at a time to practice. And then on set, they created things far beyond what we had practiced for us, so our action team really worked very hard as well, and the agwi and such that you saw...for many of those, our staff played all those roles for us. They really had it extremely hard, uh...yes. The (???) director, the (???)* director, and many stunt and action hyungs, all worked very hard. Hyung [Lee Dong Wook] also talked about this during our press conference, but they really worked very hard. On hot days, in the Forest of the Starved, they nearly....and they gave a very impassioned performance, so I was also able to immerse myself so the filming went well.

Mm....To be honest, I’m the type who really likes action, but the gumiho action this time, uh... (nods to himself). There were many stunts that appeared that were at a level beyond what I could have imagined, so while I enjoyed doing them, there were aspects that were difficult too, but when I saw how I appeared in the broadcast, I was very satisfied, and...because [the fans] really liked our sibling action scenes, it made me feel good.

[*Note: Sorry, because he’s talking half under his breath here I’m actually having trouble making out which directors he’s referring to.]

[0:42:05~0:43:38] Re: Crying scenes

You asked me if having so many crying scenes wasn’t taxing, but...I know, right? More than I thought, more than the Rang that I had originally pictured, [he] was actually quite a crybaby. There were many more crying scenes than I had thought there would be, and depending on how you look at it, it feels like maybe I cried nearly as much as Ji Ah....I get the sense that because [Rang] is a guy who carries a lot of pain and sadness, he had a lot of tears. And also, because I had to cry in a way that was Rang-like, at first I was like, ‘How should I cry? In what manner do I have to shed tears?’ but once the camera started filming...I felt like they were Rang’s own emotions, so. Yes.

If I think of hyung [Lee Dong Wook], actually, even now I get really choked up. So, when I, myself, Kim Beom, had a photo shoot recently, the topic of hyung came up in the course of the interview and I froze for a second because I nearly started crying, that also happened...

And then on set when I gave my final thoughts upon wrapping filming, I still somehow had many of Rang’s emotions left over, so I...seeing me crying, hyung said, ‘Are you going through puberty?’ hahaha, I have memory of him saying things like that to make me laugh as well.

[Note: Kim Beom is referring to his photoshoot and interview with Elle Korea. I translated a good bit of it here.]

[0:43:40~0:45:06] Q: A character you’d like to try transforming into?

Also...I, well, hyung also transformed once, but for me because it’s one of my core talents, and because gumihos are the sort of character to do that, I received the question of whether there isn’t a character I wouldn’t like to try transforming into other than the ones that appeared in the drama. Honestly, if I was Lee Rang, I probably would have transformed into Ji Ah and tried to break her [and hyung] apart. Mm....I would have really hated transforming into Ji Ah but, uh...in order to separate her from hyung, and also, out of jealousy, due to his wish that [his hyung] wouldn’t fall in love with her again, out of love for his brother, he would have transformed into Ji Ah...isn’t that originally what gumihos are like?

However, because in that case then Ji Ah [Jo Bo Ah] will have to act that out again, probably (chuckles)...next time, if there’s ever an opportunity, I’ll transform into Ji Ah and... (starts making finger hearts without finishing his sentence) yes. I would like to show that to you all.

[Reading the live chat] Right? People are asking me if I’m a genius. If it was Lee Rang, Lee Rang should have to transformed into Ji Ah, right? I also honestly just surprised myself by thinking of it just now.

[0:45:14~0:46:04 ] Thoughts before the final episode

[0:46:24~0:47:28] Re: Charades with Imoogi (Lee Tae Ri)

[0:47:30~0:48:15] Re: Director Kang Shin Hyo

[0:49:26~0:50:21] Q: Memorable Lines & Scenes

Also...about the lines. Memorable lines or memorable scenes, you’re asking a lot about these sorts of things, but I truly haven’t forgotten a single scene I was in; I remember all of them. Because the script, and the characters, and the scenarios...and the scenes were all made so so well.

Actually...well, at the beginning, when you see me fighting, bickering, with hyung, and I say ‘Didn’t you miss me?’ this line, and also...that sort of line: ‘I’m dying of anticipation.’ There were these sorts of lines as well. Uh...also, my lines that I say to Yoo Ri too. Like...‘Why would you shed tears because of me? Don’t make your life into a melodrama.’ There were these sorts of lines as well.

[0:50:24~0:51:52] Re: Azaleas

[0:51:54~0:52:26] Re: Gumiho teleportation

[0:52:27~0:54:00] Re: Rang’s throwing axes

[0:54:32~0:55:11] Re: Dokdo shrimp

[0:55:13~0:55:59] Q: Memorable filming location?

[0:56:00~0:5?:??] Re: Last episodes

[0:56:45~0:57:10] Q: Do you watch the original broadcast?

[0:57:12~End] Closing remarks

#구미호뎐 #김범 #이랑 #kim beom #kim bum #instagram live #20201201 #bts #my translations #thanks for your patience #kim beom's relationship with lee dong wook is the cutest #this whole cast is just ♡#tale of the nine tailed #totnt

79 notes · View notes

turtle-paced · 3 years

Text

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

The warning for the last episode was genocide. The warning for this episode is second-hand embarrassment.

Book 1, Chapter 4 - The Warriors of Kyoshi

(0:55) Previously on Avatar, Aang announced that he has Serious Business to attend to before learning waterbending. Zuko made a new enemy in Admiral Zhao on top of his existing problems with his dad, now revealed to have kicked him out of home pending Avatar-capture. Aang learned he really is the last airbender.

(1:48) Zuko’s room still has those broadswords on the wall, in case anyone was wondering.

(2:08) Today we’re focusing on Zuko’s scarred side while he talks about his single-minded dedication to catching the Avatar. In the context of the previous episode and the previously-on, I think this is the scar as the symbol of Zuko’s supposed obligations to his family, rather than scar = bad guy. Which is more obvious on the re-watch.

(2:17) “Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader.” He’s trying. Not very successfully right now, since he’s got capital I Issues, but he’s trying.

Moreover, it’s a pretty consistent thread with Zuko that he definitely wants to run the Fire Nation and does things to a) secure that outcome and b) prepare himself for the job so he can do it well. It’s an understated but profound contrast with both Aang, who’s already stated outright that he doesn’t want to be the Avatar, as well as with the blind, destructive ambitions of Ozai and Zhao. The latter is something I’ll definitely talk about more later, probably when the show digs into firebending philosophy. For the moment, however, Zuko’s overt desire for the Fire Nation throne hits a lot of genre biases about the evils of ambition. The show puts that out there now…so we can talk about it better, later.

(2:26) Zuko’s anger manifests in overactive candles; Iroh gently reprimands him for the effect (the heat, telling him to open a window), rather than for being angry.

(2:38) “He’s clearly a master of evasive maneuvering,” Zuko says, despairing of ever tracking down the Avatar. Aside from the cut to Aang’s actual methods right now, this one’s a bit of an awwwww moment when you think of the series finale, where the universal response to “we can’t find Aang” is for everyone to look to Zuko, trusting he’ll have some ideas. How things change.

Over in the A-plot, Sokka has the maps. This will also be consistent.

(2:50) Aang stares up at Katara, who’s focused on her mending, and tries and fails to get her undivided attention. This episode makes some important progress in Aang and Katara’s relationship. Now that they’ve decided to be in each other’s lives, now that the novelty’s wearing off, what are things going to look like when the other is an everyday feature? Katara’s got stuff to do and can’t look up every time Aang wants any of her attention. Aang can’t always be after attention, either.

(3:15) Sokka’s sexism is very obviously brought up here. Gotta love Katara hauling him up on it by withdrawing the benefit he gets from her work, leaving him scrambling to apologise. And for his pants.

(3:46) Goal-oriented Sokka wants to keep flying. Aang wants to stop and enjoy travelling. This time, Katara agrees with her brother, pretty understandable given her investment in learning waterbending. Always interesting keeping track of how often the main characters disagree with each other, even over little things - it’s actually pretty often. This is a good thing for the story! Arguing characters are showing the viewers what they want, how much they want it, and how they want to get it.

In terms of timeline, we’re still solidly in winter, and Katara’s projecting arrival in the Northern Water Tribe close to spring.

(3:55) Bad habits from Aang; he doesn’t defend his desire to stay here on its merits, but uses Appa as an excuse. He avoids even this little argument.

(4:15) Plus his insistence that Katara watch him ride the elephant-koi (which sound terrifying). Same thing as the marbles just then, but with the danger level scaled up.

(5:14) This sort of miscommunication, where Katara and Sokka are stuck on shore yelling for Aang to get out of the water and being dramatically misinterpreted, could only happen this early in the series. Much past this point, and Katara in particular would be confident enough to charge in herself and do some rescuing, especially on open water.

(5:48) Having narrowly escaped sea monsters, the gAang get ambushed by a group of mysterious warriors. And taken out quite effectively, too. Again not the sort of thing that would be possible later in the series.

We intentionally don’t get a good look at the ambushers at this point.

(6:13) Not that we’re left hanging for long, as the voice of the person in uniform is clearly female. Three seconds later, Sokka’s blindfold is torn off to reveal - ta-da - an organised, professional team of female warriors defending their home island. We can get the organised and professional thing from the fact that they’ve got uniforms and Suki’s headband clearly being a marker of rank.

In case it wasn’t already apparent that this episode is going to smack Sokka out of the very worst of his sexist ideas about women in combat, Sokka puts his foot in his mouth by asking where the men who ambushed the party are. Nowhere, mate, they don’t exist.

(6:41) Since Sokka can’t stop being sexist for thirty seconds, it’s left to Katara and Aang to talk their way out. Neither of them seem to share Sokka’s patriarchal notions; we’ve already seen that Katara’s an outspoken feminist in her patriarchal society. Aang just hasn’t commented. He simply doesn’t say anything about women in combat, and through his silence conveys that it’s just not all that remarkable to him.

(6:46) Kyoshi Island might be formally neutral and staying out of direct conflicts, but it’s still Earth Kingdom - they’re not worried about generic spies or generic partisans, but specifically Fire Nation spies.

(7:01) Exposition and timeline. Avatar Kyoshi, for whom Kyoshi Island was named, born 400 years ago. Helps us see the enduring legend of some past Avatars, despite the disrepair her statue is in. This is before we got the information about typical Avatar lifespans and who, specifically, came before Roku. Thinking that there were five Avatars between Aang and Kyoshi wouldn’t have been too out there a conclusion.

(7:07) Aang reveals himself as the Avatar of his own volition. Right now it’s just to get himself out of a jam with local authorities, but as we’ll see over the course of the episode, it’s got consequences other than people wanting to kill him.

(7:22) Another example of airbending being proof positive that Aang must be the Avatar. This goes to show just how thoroughly the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads. Airbending is so vanishingly rare in this setting now that people think it’s more likely the kid airbender is the Avatar than a random descendant of a random survivor.

(7:38) Can’t say I like the running joke of the guy foaming at the mouth. But this kicks off the counterpoint to how Aang’s relationship with Katara is settling. The people of Kyoshi immediately give Aang attention. Lots of it. Lots and lots of positive attention. The Avatar is a celebrity.

Aang, for his part, is completely fine with being the centre of attention. He likes the spotlight. This won’t be the last time we see him seek it out, not by a long shot. This episode does some character work for him in this regard.

(7:47) In something of a continuation of last episode’s giant spiritual announcement that the Avatar is back, this montage shows us word spreading throughout ordinary people in the southern Earth Kingdom. From one person to another and eventually to people who’d see Aang captured. Love how the colour palette changes and the Fire Nation horn comes in through the music over that quick montage.

(7:58) Here’s another way Zuko’s season one treatment differs from your Zhaos and your season two Azulas - you see him and Iroh in little domestic moments like this. Zuko’s not in armour, he’s sitting down for a meal with his uncle, he leaves the scene insisting he’s saving his meal for later. He and Iroh are depicted as having lives outside messing with the protagonists. (Villain domesticity gets a different twist in season three, which is heavily into exploring how the war’s messed up the Fire Nation at home, in all senses of ‘at home’.)

Broadsword status: still there. Seriously, the animators left them in for a single shot where they’re only partly in view behind Zuko’s head. They were extremely careful with that particular detail, given that not one but two plot points hang on Zuko having and displaying those swords.

(8:13) Cut to the statue of Kyoshi being cleaned and repainted, showing how the people of Kyoshi are honouring the Avatar. Appa is also getting the spa treatment, lucky Appa.

(8:32) Aang immediately identifies the food set out in front of him as a dessert not usually served at breakfast and starts scarfing it down; Katara looks at it more dubiously. She’s never left the South Pole before, so she’s not familiar with Earth Kingdom cuisine. Aang’s travelled pretty extensively, so he is. Have I mentioned recently how much I love the attention to detail in this show?

(8:41) Sokka, meanwhile, is sulking in a corner. His sexism is depicted here as petty and as more self-inflicted misery, pathetic and self-sabotaging.

(9:15) Again, the pattern. Katara says ‘we’re probably going to have a problem if we stay here too long’, looking at future issues, Aang says ‘nah, we’re fine for the moment!’ Another thing he learns a lesson about by the end of the episode - and he doesn’t repeat that specific mistake.

It’s also noticeable that even as Aang’s clearly glutting on the attention, it’s important to him that he’s making the town happy. He wants the people around him to be happy, even just casual contacts.

(9:25) Katara spells out the moral of Aang’s story this episode. The attention is going to Aang’s head, and he needs to get a grip.

(9:33) Even here in episode four, Katara is noticeably annoyed at girls around Aang’s age fangirling over him, and at how positively Aang reacts to it. Not going anywhere but Kataang, just a question of maturity.

Cue montage of Aang being very popular and doing a bit of showing off (airbending push-ups! An exercise in lifting one’s own body weight with airbending, with sufficient control not to physics oneself flying backwards!), while Katara prepared to move on and looks rather unimpressed.

(10:34) Sokka, who as I mentioned back in episode one, is teenage insecure, walks up to the Kyoshi Warriors’ training area with the clear intention of proving something to himself, I mean, to them. When he approaches, we see the Kyoshi Warriors are moving in unison, again showing us their discipline and professionalism.

(10:42) Incidentally, Sokka totally knows what he’s doing by calling the Kyoshi Warriors’ practice a “little dance lesson”. Condescension guaranteed to raise blood pressure.

(10:50) Suki, who is way more gracious than Sokka deserves right now, apologises for arresting Sokka and friends on suspicion of being Fire Nation spies. Not because arresting suspected Fire Nation spies without a lick of proof is bad, mind you, but because the assumption turned out to be wrong. Compare with Sokka and Gran-Gran wanting to kick Aang out of the South Pole village and into the antarctic wastes without so much as a snack or a blanket. We’ll see this more in the next few episodes, but the Fire Nation’s war damages the ability of Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom to trust any stranger.

(11:01) Suki’s patience is not infinite. When Sokka doubles down on being a dickhead, she gets ready to smack him down. This doesn’t seem like her first experience dealing with men talking down to her and her group, either.

Over the course of the series we’ll see some Earth Kingdom women in some bureaucratic positions with varying levels of power (never a top job), but aside from Toph, I don’t think I can recall seeing any Earth Kingdom women in active combat situations. As a whole, the setting as of the time of the main series seems to be patriarchal. The Earth Kingdom seems to settle into a place between the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation, with sexism being a little less obvious than the Water Tribes’ outright “stay in the kitchen,” and the glass ceilings firmly in place.

(11:31) As you’d expect, the teenager who’s had the opportunity to train their martial skills regularly with other warriors handily defeats the teenager who hasn’t. It’s not even close.

(12:11) In contrast to Sokka’s sexism, Aang’s hanging out with the younger girls of Kyoshi Island, happily showing off the fact that he was a woman in a past life, and not batting an eyelid when one of the girls says Aang was very pretty in that past life.

(12:20) Katara asks Aang to help out with the shopping for provisions; Aang refuses because he booked himself having fun with other people. He still wants Katara to come along, though. Ah, different attitudes to work. Katara picks up responsibilities without being asked, Aang puts the work off. Katara also uses her words to say “watching you show off isn’t fun for me” - she wants to be Aang’s friend, rather than his audience, while Aang’s having a bit of trouble distinguishing the two.

Aang’s issues with attention are also rendered a bit more painful on the rewatch. On first viewing, it’s immaturity, plain and simple. And there’s a lot of immaturity involved here, it’s true. The first impression isn’t entirely inaccurate. With knowledge of ‘The Storm’, the viewer also knows that the reveal that Aang’s the Avatar threw a wrench into his peer relationships, which he never had a chance to rebuild or readjust. The girls of Kyoshi aren’t exactly Aang’s friends, but they are providing companionship and strings-free fun, something which Aang was feeling pretty short of prior to running away. The issue’s more complex than just the attention going to Aang’s head.

For his part, Aang also accurately assesses that Katara’s jealous. She doesn’t want to just sit back and watch Aang, she’s said as much, but it’s true that she also wants Aang’s attention in return. The context of Katara and Sokka’s social decisions in this episode is them trying to work out how to relate to people around their own age, something neither has had to do before. So while Katara doesn’t want to be Aang’s audience, like she said, and she’s not willing to put her goals on the backburner just to keep Aang happy, she’s also on new social ground and not the smoothest about it.

(13:18) Outside the Kyoshi Warriors’ HQ, Sokka is kicking rocks and clearly thinking about something.

(13:35) And here Sokka starts to prove his worth. When evidence and facts conflicted with his worldview, Sokka went with the evidence and the facts - Suki and company are better at fighting than he is. So to improve his own skills, he respectfully requests that Suki teach him.

Realistically, this does not instantly make Sokka the perfect feminist ally, as we’ll see. Even here he’s gone for the “if I insulted you earlier” apology, though I’d tend to be a bit more tolerant when that’s followed up with the blunt “I was wrong,” as Sokka does. Suki, who’s well within her rights to be annoyed at a guy coming back to ask her a favour after insulting her like that, tests Sokka’s commitment by insisting he train in their traditional dress and facepaint.

(14:10) Suki’s explanation further makes it clear that any humiliation Sokka might feel is a Sokka problem, as opposed to her inflicting women’s clothing on Sokka specifically for humiliation value. Her uniform was tailored for women, and it’s also a warrior’s uniform. Nothing to be ashamed of. So if Sokka wants to train as a Kyoshi Warrior, he dresses for it.

(14:17) Like I said, getting the bulk of the point doesn’t instantly make Sokka a perfect feminist - when Aang says “nice dress,” he still can’t hang on to Suki’s point that dressing “like a girl” isn’t inherently insulting.

(14:26) Katara just quietly practicing waterbending in a free moment, nothing flashy, just manipulating small amounts of water.

(14:34) In a transparent attempt to get Katara’s attention, Aang says he’s going to go do something silly and dangerous. Katara’s not indulging these particular antics. It’s a brief fight and definitely a kid fight.

(15:05) Sokka’s fumbling with a new routine and new weapon in new armour is accentuated by the off-key music.

(15:29) The way that Sokka manages to knock Suki down with exactly the technique she was talking about shows how quick a study he can be when he actually tries to learn. They’re probably both right in their little spat here, too - Sokka did get her, Suki probably did let her guard down more than she usually would since Sokka is such a beginner.

(15:45) Back over in Aang’s storyline, Aang’s fanclub is getting bored with the lack of sea monster action.

(16:04) But as the fanclub wanders off, Katara arrives. And there’s the point for Aang this episode. Katara’s not Aang’s fangirl, she won’t always agree with him, they’ll occasionally fight - but she means it when she says she wants what’s best for him, and she’s not going to wander off on him because she got bored.

(16:24) So they end it by mutually acknowledging what they did wrong and apologising to each other. What is this communicating business? Who does that in an episodic drama? And what sort of sea monster attacks after our protagonists have got their emotional act together?

(17:27) This is a lackluster action sequence by this series’ standards, because it’s basically Aang getting whipped backwards and forwards by a giant eel, while Katara stands on shore. The creativity isn’t there. Fortunately, this part of the action sequence is brief.

(17:42) When Katara does manage to intervene, again we can see that she’s not practiced in a fight. Her waterbending does want she wants it to do, blast her and Aang back towards shore and away from the Unagi, but damn that’s a simple and straightforward use of the art. Note also that waterbending was her last resort - she waded out to Aang rather than any waterbending that would let her maintain speed and maneuverability.

(17:56) Zuko shows up here, because the fight scene needed a boost.

(18:10) Where’d he get the komodo-rhinos? Who knows.

(18:35) Katara’s earlier practice drawing water out of a basic bowl here gets a more lifesaving use, as she waterbends the water right out of Aang’s windpipe. The show didn’t make a big deal of Katara’s earlier practice, but here it is, same move!

(18:51) It’s sunset, and Sokka and Suki are still training together. This has clearly not been a miserable experience for either of them.

(19:09) Another instance of Zuko rocking up to a location and just shouting “Avatar! Where are you, Avatar!” No intro. No niceties. Just single-minded shouting.

(19:18) When, shockingly, the Avatar does not show his face at such an eloquent plea to come out and get kidnapped, Zuko orders his men to search the village. Bad things for bad reasons, just trampling over people’s homes and peace of mind for his objective.

(19:40) The Kyoshi Warriors are a match for non-benders, but have a bit more trouble with Zuko, especially when he’s on a komodo-rhino (and apparently knows how to use that fact).

(20:07) In the brief exchange between Zuko and his soldiers and the Kyoshi Warriors, Zuko does not personally set any building on fire. He doesn’t do what Zhao does later this season and trash everything his fire touches. That doesn’t negate the fact that he showed up to terrorise people until the Avatar showed up, assaulted a bunch of people, and that his subordinates weren’t as careful about the buildings as Zuko was.

(20:38) Aang uses some dropped fans to blast Zuko right through a wall, and we get a reaction shot afterwards to note that he’s not happy. Aang doesn’t like fighting and tries not to hit back.

(20:45) Aang glides over the village and gets a look at the destruction, including a look back at the statue of Kyoshi in flames.

(21:10) Aang blames himself for the village getting burned down. Katara says it’s not his fault. Again, it’s a deceptively complex ethical issue for a kids’ show. Arson is on the arsonists, but what are Aang’s responsibilities to random villagers in living in indefensible, flammable locations, when they don’t know Aang’s being chased and Aang does? As a matter of sheer practicality, Aang can flee a lot more easily than most villagers can fight back against the Fire Nation.

There aren’t good, totally fair answers to this. But after this point, if the gAang decides to stop in one place for a while, it’s either a decent-sized population centre, or somewhere out of the way. Not a village.

(21:19) Katara says she reckons Zuko will leave Kyoshi Island alone to chase them, and resigned, Aang says he’ll call Appa. Goodbye, any hope of normal travel! This looks to me like the point where Aang internalised that yes, in the dystopian future he woke up in, being the Avatar means being hunted down by the Fire Nation.

(21:33) Sokka apologises for treating Suki like a girl when he should have treated her like a warrior. Suki gives us the galaxy brain take - there’s no contradiction, she can be both.

(21:52) Appa takes off and Katara’s prediction is borne out. Zuko drops everything to chase them.

(22:11) Aang isn’t happy with just running, though. He feels obliged to do something else to defend Kyoshi when it’s already burning. So he dives back into the ocean and lures the Unagi back out to spray water all over the village.

(22:38) The look on Zuko’s face at being drenched is priceless.

(22:58) Katara gives Aang a hug for risking himself to help others, and the group flies off into the sunset to end the episode.

So, on the whole. This episode doesn’t do anything radical in terms of the plot, but it does provide some character development that needed to happen early. Aang needed to come to terms with being the centre of attention, whether the attention was shallow adoration or a serious desire to harm him without much regard for collateral damage. Katara and Aang both needed to work on maintaining a long-term friendship not based on novelty value. Sokka needed to snap out of that particular form sexism, because the rest of the series isn’t going to be short on female combatants.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

43 notes · View notes

englishstrawbie · 2 years

Note

Do you have eras of ER that you like more than others? I could only make it to season 8 and then *that thing* happened and I couldn’t watch any further. I did skip to see the end of Doug and Carol’s story though because those straights warmed my lesbian heart😭 usually I have no time for m/f ships at all but they sold it! I want to finish someday but by s4 there was already a different vibe which I still loved, bur the early days were my favourite seasons by far. Going by looks alone, and some trailers, I feel like s9 on tried to compete with Greys at the time(it’s so bright which makes for easy watching but it’s jarring because usually ER looks like it’s filmed through a dim haze lol)but I could be wrong?

*The thing* that shall not be named?!

The early years are my favourite because there's always something special about a show when it first starts airing. There's a magic in the relationships and chemistry between the earlier characters that you don't get as the cast gets bigger. Actors bond quickly and deeply when they're in a new show that suddenly becomes a hit. You can see that in the later episodes when the OGs come back (I include Jeanie, Kerry and Elizabeth in that), something hits differently in the scenes between them. Look at George and Juliana in season 15, it's 9 years later and they're still as wonderful as ever. And Sherry with Anthony and Noah when she came back in season 8 (I'm ignoring her awful hair cut when she first came back!).

I think the earlier seasons also benefit from the fact that the writers room still have new and fresh ideas, that's when the storytelling is usually the best. They don't have to resort to big dramatic deaths or shock tactics to win an audience, which I think started to happen from season 9 onwards. I'm thinking of Romano and his unfortunate collision with a helicopter, wasn't that in the first episode of the season?

I'd say my favourite era is probably seasons 1 to 4. Season 2 is my favourite of all. Okay, I'm bias, because Susan was my favourite character and her story arc, with baby Susie and having to give her back to Chloe, was amazing. Plus, my shipper heart was convinced that she and Mark would become a thing, so I was excited to see where that goes. (Only to have my heart broken in season 3 💔 - it’s been more than 20 years and I’m still not over it!)

But also Jeanie is around more, who is wonderful, and Kerry is introduced, who is a brilliant character, even if she's there to cause tension at the start. I loved Doug's storyline with the mother with the son with HIV (my first introduction to Lucy Liu) - and his big heroic moment when he saved the kid in the storm! Carter's story with the Rubadouxes was great, and I loved the relationship between him and Benton. (Benton confronting him about his drug addiction will always be a stand out moment for me.)

I looked up how much of a crossover there was between ER and Grey's. Grey's started airing in March 2005, so the competition was in the last three seasons of ER (13, 14 and 15). I don't know how much of a competition there was at the time. They've always been very different shows to me, though, and I find it hard to compare the two other than the fact that they're both set in a hospital.

#er #nbc er #anon #thanks for such a great question!

1 note · View note

heartlandians · 3 years

Text

Amber Marshall opens up about the heartbreaking season opener of Heartland

Viewers are presumably still reeling from the seismic shock of Sunday's 14th season opener

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT THE SEASON 14 OPENER OF HEARTLAND

Roughly two years ago, Amber Marshall received a phone call from Graham Wardle, the actor she worked closely with for 14 years on the CBC show, Heartland. He had some surprising, and somewhat unsettling, news for his co-star. He was leaving the show.

“He wanted to let me know before he told anybody else,” says Marshall, in an interview with Postmedia late last week. “He and I have a very close relationship, we’ve been great friends for a number of years since the show began. And I was hurt. When he first told me, it stung a little bit. But then, as I had time to process it, I understood it. I understood the journey he was on and that nobody should stand in the way of someone who wants to pursue what their true heart’s desire is.”

So Marshall knew Wardle was leaving before producers of the long-running series did. She also knew long before writers were forced to come up with a satisfying way for Wardle’s character, Ty, to exit the series, which he did in decidedly dramatic fashion this past Sunday. It was no easy task. After all, the relationship between Marshall’s Amy Fleming and Wardle’s Ty Borden had arguably become the true heart of Heartland over 14 seasons. Against the idyllic backdrop of a horse ranch in the foothills of the Rockies, devotees around the world watched their relationship progress from an on-and-off teen romance, to marriage and eventual parenthood. To have the characters go through a quickie divorce or have Ty suddenly journey to Mongolia, as he had in a previous season when Wardle requested some time off, just wasn’t going to cut it.

So viewers are presumably still reeling from the seismic shock of Sunday’s 14th season opener. Within the first couple of minutes, loving husband and new father Ty Borden collapses and dies of previously undetected complications from a gunshot wound he suffered at the end of Season 13.

At the time of this interview, the episode had yet to air and reporters were sworn to secrecy. But Marshall was clearly bracing for what was sure to be a strong and emotional reaction from fans this week.

“This a story that people might not want to see in the beginning,” she says. “I think there’s going to be a lot of people devastated by this. But I believe the journey through this season is so important for viewers to watch and to know that death is real. Death is something that impacts all of us at some point in our lives. To see this widowed mother find the strength and courage to move forward for her daughter and really think about what’s best for the family around her and to come together and be that support I think is so important. And to know that it isn’t easy. There’s nothing easy about death and it shouldn’t be. But to honour that person and that person’s journey and by moving forward and living each day is the best way that you can.”

As of press time, the reasons for Wardle’s decision to leave had not been clearly spelled out, presumably because his departure needed to be kept a secret. Marshall did not want to speak for him but said he left to pursue passions other than acting. Earlier this year, he launched a podcast called Time Has Come. In a trailer he posted on YouTube in May, he said it is meant to focus on “people stepping outside their comfort zone and into a world, into a life, into a vision of their future that they desire.”

“Where does the courage come from to do that?” he said. “That’s been a part of my journey for the last two years now.”

Wardle’s absence from the set this year was deeply felt by cast and crew, Marshall says. Heartland is now the longest-running drama in the history of Canadian television. On top of that, it has maintained most of its core cast for 14 years, a rarity for any television show. Jessica Amlee, who played family friend and teen busybody Mallory Anderson for seven seasons, left the series to pursue other acting opportunities in 2013. That was the same year Alisha Newton joined Heartland as Georgie Fleming Morris. But other than that, the main cast has remained the same up until now: Marshall, Wardle, Michelle Morgan as Amy’s older sister Lou, Shaun Johnston as their grandfather Jack Bartlett and Chris Potter as their father Tim.

After the big reveal, Season 14 takes place a year after Ty’s death. In episodes 1 and 2, Amy is still numb with grief and has put her life on hold. Other members of the family are dealing with the loss in their own way and the early episodes are filled with flashbacks and grief. But Ty’s absence will be a continuing theme throughout the entire season, Marshall says.

The series has dealt with loss before. Amy and Lou arrived on the Bartlett ranch in Season 1 after the death of their mother. But this particular plot twist is no doubt the darkest in Heartland’s history. Marshall says she prepared for her character’s grief by reaching out to the family of a friend who lost her husband at a young age a few years ago.

“It was a very similar story,” she says. “She had been with him for over a decade. It was a very tragic accident, unexpected. They were both very young. I mostly spoke with her sister about it because I didn’t want to bring up any unnecessary hurt for her. But her sister explained to me the journey she had gone on and said that the whole first year she was completely numb to it. It was like she was in this daze. When we look at the story of Heartland, that first episode is exactly a year after his death. I wanted the audience to know that Amy hadn’t really come to terms with it until that moment. This season, the fact that it’s a year later, is her healing. It’s been a year of numbness. It’s been a year of her crying until she can’t cry anymore. When we pick up a year later, the audience gets to be on that journey of healing and that journey of strength and just being able to be there for her daughter and her family.”

That said, it won’t be relentlessly grim. Season 14 will still be filled with horses and humour. A new character named Parker (played by Calgary actress Ava Tran) will be introduced as a socially conscious if occasionally smart-alecky preteen city slicker who spends time on the Bartlett ranch. Lou’s new job as the somewhat befuddled mayor of Hudson will also be mined for humour. A future episode will have Tim engaging in a disastrous polo match to impress a woman.

While the sudden departure of a main character may lead some to assume the series could be on its last legs, Marshall says she believes there are still plenty of stories left to tell in the world of Heartland. While she fully expects fans to grieve about Ty, she says she hopes they keep it in perspective.

“These are stories we’re telling,” she says. “We’re trying to honour these characters the best way that we can. But, at the same time, this is television. These are stories we write. While they may be devastated and I feel there is going to be a lot of tears shed when these episodes are viewed, at the end of the day we’re all OK. We’re all actors and I think sometimes you get so caught up in that reality that it’s hard to distance yourself from the fact that it is all fictitious. I hope these stories do resonate and cause an array of different emotions, because that means we’re doing our job right. But I think a lot of people are going to be very heartbroken.”

Heartland airs Sundays on CBC.

Source

#heartland #interview #calgary herald #amber marshall #season 14 #14x01 #gw #gramber #spoilers

16 notes · View notes

orionsangel86 · 5 years

Text

“I Think It’s Time For Me To Move On”

...And Other Things That Have Destroyed Me This Weekend...

So there is this common trope within love stories which generally happens at the end of the second act in which everything goes wrong and we all think that the lovers are doomed to failure. Its pretty much standard in every Jane Austen novel, every romantic film every made, every single bloody love story. Go ahead, name one. I guarantee you the break up moment is there.

Within the epic love story of Dean and Cas, there have been many break up moments, and all have had their emotionally devastating impact on the relationship and the show...

But THIS was a different level.

(For a nice summary of Destiel break up moments and understanding of this trope, @tinkdw wrote about it here.)

I didn’t think that there would be another moment within Dean and Cas’s relationship that could hit me this hard. The mixtape in 12x19, the wrapping of Cas’s body in 13x01, and the return of Cas in 13x05 are moments that I consider to be the very top of the scale in making this pairing undeniably romantic. Moments that pushed it beyond a platonic interpretation. These three moments have been the things I cling to when the show has otherwise made me doubt any conclusion to the DeanCas story, and since there hasn’t been another one of those moments since 13x05, until now I have been somewhat nervous that the story was dropped, or being forced back behind a platonic screen.

15x03 has ripped that screen away.

Emotional meta under cut...

This entire episode was an emotion fuelled dramatic roller-coaster that killed off three characters including our beloved witch queen in a scene that almost stole the show and practically canonised the SamWitch ship. Rowena’s death should have been by far the most torturous moment for viewers to endure, and it was extremely torturous and had me sobbing on a plane 3 hours into a 7 hour flight. That incredibly heartfelt moment between Sam and Rowena will probably go down as one of the top tear-jerking moments on this show. It was tragic in the best way - the way Supernatural is famous for.

But lets not gloss over the fact that in an episode where THAT should have been the climax, where THAT should have been the emotional highlight and end point, instead we get a further MORE dramatic stand off between Dean and Cas that pulled focus and ripped all of our hearts out just as violently as poor Ketch in the first act (a very clever and smug piece of meta foreshadowing there Mr Berens).

On a meta level, this is HUGE as a writing choice because they MUST know how this looks. This was the climax of the third episode of the finale season. The way Supernatural has always structured itself since Carver era is that the first three mytharc episodes of each season establish the direction of the story and set the foundations for the character level focal points and dramatic key notes to come.

That the writers have chosen to end the foundation episodes with a DeanCas break up moment that was more dramatic than a Spanish Telenovela has just stunned me and left me reeling because I just can’t see how else this can go. This break up scene absolutely DEMANDS a huge reconciliation of the sort that will be part of the A plot of the season - the FINAL SEASON. Guys. Part of the reason I have been so quiet and so disillusioned with the show during late season 13 and season 14 was because they pushed any Destiel plot into non existent territory - it became kinda irrelevant and Dean and Cas just acted like friends (homoerotic friends yes, and sometimes like an old married couple, but it was mostly played as an afterthought imo), so for this to suddenly be brought to the forefront of the emotional story again is excellent news for us.

The thing is, like with those huge moments I listed above, the break up scene is basically undeniably romantic when you break it down to its components:

1. It’s only Dean and Cas.

Once again we have another scene of high stake emotions that excludes Sam. In a platonic reading of the show, it makes zero sense for there to be such a hugely disjointed relationship between Cas and Dean and Cas and Sam given he has known them both for so long now that if they were all “just friends” then surely Sam would also feel the impact of Cas’s choices as heavily as Dean. In a platonic reading, Dean comes across as an asshole, Sam comes across as being weirdly uncaring about his friend of 10 years, and Cas comes across as not even bothering to get Sam’s opinion before leaving. A romantic reading makes sense because quite literally THIS IS A ROMANTIC BREAK UP.

2. The words spoken.

“Well I don’t think there is anything left to say.”

“I think it’s time for me to move on”

From Cas’s perspective at least, name one time in a piece of media where such language has been used for a platonic breakup sincerely? There have been heartfelt break up songs that use these exact words. (I should know I’ve spent the last 24 hours listening to them all).

That last line in particular is so heavy. It’s the last line of the episode and nothing about it is platonic. This is relationship terminology my dudes. “I need to move on, and get over you.” This is Cas’s bloody Adele song. My heart breaks for him, but if I was his sassy and fabulous best girlfriend right now I’d be sitting him down, sipping a cocktail, flipping my hair and telling him “Babe, you’re too good for him. Good Riddance. Let’s go out, have some cocktails, something pink and fruity. No dive bars for us darling. I’ll take you to Heaven... the fun one in London.”

In all seriousness though, from Cas’s perspective, this was him admitting defeat and giving up the fight for love. How anyone can possibly say Cas isn’t in love with Dean after this, well I just don’t know what show you are watching. This is the face of a heartbroken man who has just accepted that his love is unrequited.

3. The many faces of Dean Winchester

On the other end of the scale, Dean was mostly silent after his poisonous words “And why does that something always seem to be you?”

Forgive the terrible gif quality I’ve no time for fancy gif work!

Look at his face here. He knows what he said was fucked up and he immediately regrets it. The way he swallows around that regret and then turns away.

and after Cas says that devastating final line and walks away? We get THIS reaction from him:

The jaw clench as he looks down. The sorrow on his face as he realises he has well and truly fucked this up. LOOK

Finally, he looks up, makes himself look up and watch Cas leave. If that isn’t the face of a broken man I dunno what to tell you. Anyone who thinks Dean is totally heartless and uncaring right now needs to reassess because this is NOT the face of someone uncaring. This is the face of someone who has just lost everything. Again.

4. The FUCKING MUSIC

Seriously. The sweeping heavy drama of the low strings that come in right after Dean says that horrid line, that carry the weight of the look of horror and heartbreak on Cas’s face as they amplify the emotion there. As they blend seamlessly into the slow and subtle version of the Winchester family theme behind Cas’s heartbreaking speech and Dean’s stubborn stoic face hiding a multitude of emotion, until the violin dominates as Cas says “I think it’s time for me to move on” and the Winchester Theme swells to its climax, ripping all our hearts out just like poor Ketch as Dean watches Cas walk out of his life surrounded by darkness.

I MEAN.

A friend on Twitter reminded us all of this point about the importance of this theme via @justanotheridijiton here which is essentially:

“The Winchester theme is not simply an aural marker to let the audience know when and how Sam and Dean love each other (any Supernatural fan knows that is the baseline of their relationship), but to provide narrative information, especially when the image and dialogue are incomplete or inconsistent with the true situation... Seasoned fans will recognize the theme and its history of being paired with images indicating deep emotional bonding and a desire to do the right thing by the Winchester code. Here we trust our ears over our eyes to reveal the truth.”

So here is yet another key indicator that any surface read that this is actually an ending between Dean and Cas and that Dean really is just an angry asshole is utter bullshit.

Honestly, this was PAINFUL, but it was painful in the best way. It was 13x01 levels of pain, but this time it was Cas choosing to walk away which makes all the difference. Dean’s greatest fear isn’t his loved ones dying on him after all, but of his loved ones choosing to leave him. This was exactly the kick up the ass Dean needs in order to win Cas back, classic love trope style.

Hence my excitement at what is to come. Yes we won’t see Cas again until 15x06, but in the meantime I fully expect a good helping of angst and wallowing from a depressed Dean who has to deal with the fact that he has just lost the love of his life and it is all his fault. That he just pushed away the one person who promised they would always stay by his side. That has got to hurt.

So yeah, this episode emotionally destroyed me, and I’ve only really covered the primary reason, let alone all my feels over SamWitch, Rowena’s death, Belphegor’s taunting of Cas over his deepest fears and then having to suffer through smiting a creature wearing the face of his son until his body was nothing but a burnt corpse... I wonder if Bobo had a bet going in the office over how much he could hurt us all? He was certainly enjoying scrolling through the Supernatural tag on Twitter and liking everyone’s reaction tweets including some brilliant Destiel related ones. I do love Bobo. Our Angst Goblin King.

If anyone had asked me a few weeks ago what my thoughts were on the chances of getting explicit canon Destiel by series end, I would have said somewhere in the realms of 30-40%, considering it a battle of wills between DabbBerens and CW studio execs who I still feel are against it in general. I would have considered everything that happened after 13x06 as the writers getting a big NO on Destiel from the network and therefore having to pull back on any Destiel related plot points (purely my own speculation on BTS matters of course).

Now I am wondering if Dabb kept fighting the network? If he managed to wear them down into begrudging acceptance? I’m currently up to around an 80% chance of textual canon DeanCas if we continue on this path. If Dean is clearly shown to be mourning and hating himself over Cas next episode, and if this DeanCas dramatic plot line continues to be a focal point of the emotional story arcs... well...

I’m side eyeing 15x07 a lot right now. Only in my wildest dreams would I think that they might actually introduce an old boyfriend for Dean in a “coming out” episode, but the placement, timing, and potential is all there and I’m kind of once again donning the clown mask because I’m just in awe at everything that they are doing. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I’m gonna paint my face in red and white and wear my rainbow wig and listen to break up songs on Spotify whilst trying to shove my heart back into my chest where Bobo Beren’s gleefully ripped it out with his hands like the demonic angst goblin he is. Wish me luck, I’m not sure I’m gonna get through this season with my emotions intact.

#destiel #supernatural #spn meta #destiel meta #spn speculation #season 15 #15x03 #castiel #dean winchester #spn spoilers #my meta #destiel dreaming #destiel break up

877 notes · View notes

hippychick006 · 4 years

Text

Paleyfest 2006: Supernatural Panel

So many memories and a lot of things I’d forgotten but definitely worth a revisit to remember falling in love with this show and these guys, particularly with Drabbernatural and all the negativity recently.

I mentioned on another post, but want it stated here for completeness, that Supernatural Paleyfest 2006 is the panel that made me sit up and take notice of J2 as an entity, rather than just Jared and Jensen. Their natural chemistry in this panel just jumped out and you can see they were already becoming a bubble in how they interacted with each other. This is the panel that reeled me in, dammit!

In summary, this panel gave us the following J2 gold moments;

Jensen strip teasing for Jared (we think)

Boys acting like brothers

Protective Jensen

J2 dodging questions and trying to pass it to the other

J2 not listening to the actual question and having to ask again

J2 teasing each other and playing off each other so naturally

Flirty boys and gutter minds

Jared v microphones – microphones: 1, Jared: 0

Use of Jared and I…

Mirroring body language

Jared trying to get a kiss in public (it will become a running theme and if Jensen’s podcast with Michael Rosenbaum is correct then he’s getting his 15 year reward for being patient) Please don’t @ me, I’m aware Jensen is joking!

Shy, embarrassed, adorkable clapping and laughing Jared

J2 finishing each others’ sentences

J2 in sync

Placing under a cut as longish post

Note: Part 1 was posted recently. There are 3 edits so far between that post and this one: 7:15 and 17:45, 27:55, they are all clearly marked, otherwise the text is the same as before. Part 2 has been added since the initial post.

Timings are based on the video link and start at the answer point rather than the question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6YHq20XmNE

Part 1: Questions from the host

Supernatural was named in the Top 5 of new series by Entertainment Weekly

Aww. Kim Manners ☹ Miss his influence so much on the later seasons

2:20: Jensen followed by Jared are announced to the panel. Jared arrives and doesn’t quite know where he’s supposed to go. Oh Jared.

Robert Singer looks so young! Working with J2 for so long has definitely aged him. 😊

3:35: Erik says as far as he’s aware, this panel is the first gathering of Supernatural fans

3:40: Erik tells the story of them filming in Stanley Park the night before the panel and they get a call about a man near their filming with a handgun, set gets shut down, J2 held away, police etc. called in and 2 hours later they find out it’s one of their own guys from Special Effects team.

They showed Scarecrow episode at the panel – great choice!

7:15: Jensen is reintroduced to the panel. The host can barely get through Jensen’s previous roles because of the fans. Jensen says something at 8.10 “Over to you, Jared.” I think, not 100% sure, but he definitely shouts something to Jared (who has still to be introduced). [Edit, thanks to @wordsfallapart we think this might be “This is for you, Jared” which Jensen says as he’s taking off his jacket].

8:11: Jared is reintroduced to the panel. The host is still having the same trouble getting through Jared’s roles as he did with Jensens. A guy shouts, “I love you.” Same random audience member, same.

8:55: J2 slap hands as Jared sits down beside Jensen at the panel.

13:40: Erik’s been talking about the concept of the show and the care the brothers have for each other. Cut to Jared who is currently pouring Jensen some water. Aww

15:00: They auditioned “everyone in town” so J2 did really, really well getting these roles. They flew Jensen down from Vancouver and Jared’s complaining he had to drive. They thought they had found their Sam in Jensen.

15:45: Jensen and Jared trying to dodge the question by passing it to each other, Jared: What’s the exact question?

Immediately following this Jared’s talking about getting the role from his perspective and his little baby!Jared Texan accent is just…

17:05: Jared, talking about his mom being an English teacher who teaches mythology and legends: “…the taught teachings of Joseph Campbell” Jensen: “Didn’t rub off that she was an English teacher” Oh boys! Stop bullying Jared, he worked till 4.30am before flying down to the panel!

17:45: Jared’s still talking, Jensen starts snoring. I can’t… Jared shakes him to wake him up.[Edit: thanks to @annianvi Jared wakes him up by saying: Dean!”]

18:20: Jared and Kripke are trying to clarify something (who was in the room when Jared auditioned) but Singer is in the way and they keep going front and back trying to make eye contact

19:24: we get to what Jensen’s experience of the audition process was. Jensen: Pretty much the same. Jared (immediately): zzzzzzz (resting his head on Jensen’s shoulder). Jensen goes on to talk about liaising with Nutter who wanted to bring him in and reading the script (for Sam). Jensen reading the script: “What about Dean? I like Dean. He’s funny” He studied for Sam (and Dean a little bit just in case) and went into the audition, said he felt good about it and got a call later from Erik: “There’s this guy, Jared Pada, Pada Something… that they’re really liking for one of the brothers” So Jensen looks him up on line and he’s like…

Jared: He thought I was hot. Jensen: This guy’s smoking hot, I can’t play his brother! Jared throws his head back and does that clapping thing he does.

21:10: host is asking by the time they performed together, they actually had the parts? Jensen: No, we didn’t have it officially. Jared (a bit surprised): Didn’t we? (looks at Erik). Erik says they were the only actors they brought into the Network audition (as you have to have the formality of the network signing off).

Jared says auditioning for the network is usually a terrifying process in front of around 5 people with a few others auditioning but when they turned up, it was only the two of them. Jensen: Just you and me pal. And it was the first time they’d met.

22:00: Jensen: “...And we’ve hated each other ever since.” He reaches for his water, Jared: “I poisoned your water so…” Jensen looks at water and drinks anyway

22:15: Kim Manners gets asked how he became involved. Kim: “I read for Sam…” Miss this man so much!

23:00: Erik says he doesn’t know what they would do without Kim up there [Vancouver] Kim: I know what you’d do, you’d get another guy! Panel: There is no other guy. Not true... Jared: “There is no other guy… named Kim.” Kim looks like he’s scheduling Jared in for a 4am pick up on his next episode.

23:40: Jared and Jensen talk about Kim and when he directed for the first time – Dead In the Water – they’d asked who he was and all David Nutter told them was they would love Kim, which they did and they contacted everyone from Day 1 saying he was incredible. Jared’s memory during this is pretty amazing in terms of episodes and directors etc. All the love for Kim and completely deserved!

24:20: Jared gets so expressive he sends his mic flying. Is this the very first Jared v microphones?! I think it might just be. Jared: 0, Microphones: 1

Jensen offers his own mic, then Jared asks Singer for his also then finishes speaking by just holding his own mic, saying they begged and pleaded them to give Kim a job. Jared: because he was hungry… and he kept trying to bite my arm… and I was really worried.”

24:45: They were asked what is so incredible about Kim. Jensen: “Jared and I…” Wait, I need a moment here. Jared and I… sobs. He says they just responded well to him and his style of directing.

25:15: Bugs is mentioned by Jensen, Kim puts imaginary gun to his mouth. He really hated that episode and pleaded with Kripke not to do it. Jensen goes on to tell the bees story, 65,000 bees in a room, crew with full gear on. “Okay Jensen and Jared, hop on in…” Jared: “And don’t swat them because it makes them angry!” Jensen credits Kim saying that if J2 didn’t have bee suits on then he wasn’t going to either.

I should point out that J2 are mirroring throughout this segment in terms of their body language.

26:45: John (Shiban) is talking about how he got involved and what drew him in, and he said 2 things: the premise, he can see 5 years of suffering for these guys. Jensen throws his head back dramatically. The second thing is casting and chemistry and chemistry is something you can’t manufacture and these guys have it… 27:20 Jared and Jensen look at each other hearing this and Jared leans in for a kiss. Jensen shakes his head and points to the audience. Jared: worth a try. Oh boys. Jared will go on to try (and fail) to get a public kiss several times and will eventually give up and admit he doesn’t kiss Jensen... in public.

27:35: Bob [Singer] is asked what about you? Bob: Can I just watch them? (indicating Jensen and Jared). Same Bob tbh

27:55: Bob has to stop talking because J2 are doing something and we can’t see what they are doing but everyone is laughing. Bob throws his hands up and says, “This is what it’s like to direct them!” I think from memory, Jared might be pouring water for Jensen and he keeps pouring and overspills and Jensen stops him. I might need to check my DVD as I think it’s got a different angle than this youtube video that I’m using or possibly this point comes later in the video. [Edit, it doesn’t come later, so I definitely think this is where Jared overspills Jensen’s water and not sure why it isn’t in this edit]

Bob’s is a very interesting segment where he talks about how he and Kripke complement one another and I think this helps understand why Drabbernatural has gone off the rails as Singer (character focused) needs someone like Kripke (plot focused) to balance him out (and vice versa tbh) whereas Drabb is too much like Singer and can’t keep a handle on the plot. Anyway, interesting to watch from perspective of 14 years later and the mess that Drabbernatural is in terms of plot. This segment ends at 31:00 where Bob and Erik hug – after complimenting each other.

33:09: Kripke and John are talking about mythology v MOTW and at this point Erik is saying they have a mythology plan for season 2 and season 3 (if they are picked up). Jared looks confused at Jensen and they both turn to John. Jensen: When do we get to see this?

34:35: Erik Kripke (when asked if he knows where the story ends): He does, but you don’t know if you’re going to get cancelled or go 37 years like Gunsmoke. Kim: The boys are in Walkers. Jensen (I think, old man voice): Sam! Oh, how they would be shocked to learn they went for 15 seasons in total

Part 2 – Questions from the audience

note timings here again generally refer to the start time of the answer, not the question.

36:45: One of the questions was whether there was any significance to John being in Sacramento twice, was it random or spoilery? John (Shiban) answers mysteriously: I don’t want to give it away yet and says nothing else. Jensen: So yes, there is. John: I’m not going to tell you either. Jensen (throws his hands up): I want to know! John promises after. The host then asks if there is any significance to Lawrence, Kansas. Erik answers that basically yes there is (but not what it is), host asks J2 if they know what it is. J2 (lying in sync): uh, yeah, gosh, of course...

37:45: When asked what folklore or urban legend scares you, Jensen says he’s been dealing with them all season, someone shouts out “bees!” Jensen says “bees.” Jared tells a story of watching Shadowman as a kid, then realises “it’s probably not scary” and stops talking, gets embarrassed and tries to hide in his jacket. Audience (and me) awwws

39:15: Audience member has asked about the disconnect between Sam being at college for 4 years but only not having seen Dean for 2 years and is there an answer to what happened 2 years ago. J2 aren’t sure, Jensen: Erik? Long story short, “hehe, it was a mistake!”

40:50: Question about whether they have to trade off with the network for scenes that are too scary. Bob: you get into strange discussions; the network might say “can we not see the decapitated head roll…” Bob: Can we do half a turn?

41:30: still talking about trade off, Jensen: There was also the uh, when… Jared: the gun rig. Jensen: yeah, the gun rig with me… Jared knowing exactly what Jensen was trying to say and finishing his sentence – and this was end of season 1! I’m going to need another moment! They go on to talking about Dean getting shot in the head in Nightmare and it was the only scene Standards and Practices wouldn’t allow. They wouldn’t show the entire shot, so we only see the splat on the wall when Dean’s shot and not the entire thing moment to end. Singer says when he saw the dailies of the full shot, he called Phil (Scriggia) who was directing to ask what the hell he was doing and Phil answered “well if they see that, they’ll give me the rest of the stuff…” Kim explained it was a game they play with standards and practice where they deliberately shoot extra frames violent, expecting them to come in and say they need to take stuff out and you act all disappointed – 4 frames, really? But you always knew you didn’t need those frames and you get to keep the stuff you do want.

44:20: Question about whether anything on set – e.g. the scarecrow has creeped them out. Jared talks about filming Skin when a clock randomly fell off the wall during filming, and they all decided to pretend it didn’t happen, rather than investigate “the way real brave people do it”. Jensen immediately follows up with Asylum and that it was filmed in a real mental asylum. The crew had said not to go up to the fourth floor. Jensen… obviously went up to the fourth floor “taking a shortcut”. He came to a long, dark hallway that had no lights. Jensen (to himself): Well… it’s not that long… I can make it.”

46:20: Question about moving to a new network (WB to CW) and if they were going to get more NC17 stuff like Jensen’s recent episode. Jensen and Jared look at each other. Jensen: I’m confused. Audience members shout out: Teh sex episode! J2: oh, oh right. Jensen: How could I forget that. (looks at Erik): Thank you for that. Erik: Sure, Happy birthday Jensen

46:40: still on this, Erik: The CW is huge on full frontal male nudity. Jared laughs, claps and reaches for some water, then proceeds to choke on it. Jensen immediately slaps his back, making a gesture for a medic. This panel really does have it all!

48:40: Question about whether the show will explore the boys’ past. Erik says they’ve got an episode coming up where they do just that. Jared: Another positive is that if little Sam and little Dean are filming, big Sam and big Dean are sleeping. Everyone: So keep pushing. Jensen: Flashbacks. I’m so glad the boys finally got some more time off in later seasons!

49:15: Question about whether Dean’s necklace means anything. Jensen looks at Erik/Singer: Are you going to hang me out to dry on this one? Singer: Oh yeah. Jared laughs. They basically say it does, but they can’t talk about it. John Shiban: It’s from Sacramento (referring to earlier question where he was being mysterious). Jensen loses it.

50:15: Question about if working with green screen has got easier to do and also when the DVD comes out, is it going to have a lot of behind the scenes jokes because “this is funny”. Uh, yeah it is lady and yes they will. Jensen answers that they’ve just had a film crew on set the last week doing behind the scenes stuff and that will be on the DVD. He then goes on to answer the green screen “we do do..” then stops, looks at Jared, “I said do do!” There follows a brief intermission for juvenile humour. Jensen (tries to regroup): We do… work a lot with… Kim (I think): doo doo. Jensen and Jared are laughing. Jensen: Jared, you can take this one. Jared: As Kim and Jensen were saying we do do… They do eventually get around to answering and also talk about not just green screen but when they’ve got to pretend on a normal set and special effects will add things in later.

53:45: Question about whether Jensen has trouble to do this type of show being a Christian and whether fans had called the number Dean gave out on screen. Fan gets very excited during her question. Jared: If you want to actually call him its 800-Wet legs. I can’t... Jensen leans over to whisper in Jared’s ear. Jared: oh, you changed it? They’re lost and have forgotten the question. Jensen answers the Christian question very honestly, saying his family is very religious and does his grandmother cringe sometimes, yes, but he’s happy. Kripke answers the phone question saying it was real and he listened to around 20-30 of the thousands received. “Sam, Dean, you need to come quick, there’s a ghost in my attic!”

55:45: Question about what car they drive. Jensen (proudly): it’s a 67 chevy impala. Audience shouts metallicar. And Jared repeats it to Jensen, so I think this is the first use of metallicar. Someone on the panel says, “they’re going to sell well.” Jensen says they have about 5 of them. Jared: That’s why you can’t get them on e-bay. Jensen: We have them all.

When they ask for the next question, lots of people put their hand up and the boys are surprised at the number still wanting to ask questions.

56:15: Fan says, let’s talk about the music. Audience cheer, Jensen says “Yes”, Jared claps in agreement. Fan asks for the inspiration for using 70s mullet rock. Kripke answers that he is a huge fan of that music and he was adamant it had that and not the usual music on the network that he wrote into the pilot script: Cue Music. And you can take your anemic alternative pop and shove it up your ass! He goes on to say he wrote the scene where Sam’s going through the tapes in the pilot specifically so the network would have no choice but to use that music because it was already shot and part of the pilot.

58:50: Question from aspiring actor wondering how hard it was for J2 to get started. Jensen (to Jared): Go ahead.

Jared talks about winning Teen choice awards and giving trophies to winners like Freddie Prince Jr for “best hottie of the world”. Jensen: it’s been pretty much downhill from there.” Jared talks about picking up his agent (Dan) and then going back to finish school, because his parents (and he says daddy which I love about him) said “He’s finishing high school!” He then went out for pilot season, picked up a pilot and used the money from that to go back out during the summer (after school ended and before college). He’s very humble and hasn’t changed in that respect saying he has buddies that are much more talented and more committed than him that are still struggling to make it, it’s a tough industry but keep working hard.

Jensen talks about being in theatre in Dallas, talent agent from LA was in the audience, he came up to Jensen afterwards and gave his pitch, Jensen told him to “bugger off” and the agent went to his parents who listened more than he did. It still took him a few years to take up the offer (so he must have been a lot younger) and decided to go to LA and give it a couple of months. He started working straight away.

1:01:12: Question about what alcohol they like to drink (?!) Jared: What alcohol do you got? Questioner clarifies: Are you hard guys, light guys. Jared laughs and claps: My mom would kill me. Jared does go on to say the beer bottles in the show always have fake labels… [Something makes a noise in the ceiling, Jared gets distracted and looks up: God? then continues answering] …the labels usually have something do with the town/state they are supposed to be in, so if Texas, it will be Lonestar Lager. Boys are mirroring again at this point.

Jared (looks at Jensen): You know we’re Texas boys. I think… Jensen: You know, we’d probably drink what you imagine a couple of Texas boys would drink Jared: Put in a cup Jensen (does that smirk thing he does): That’s right Jared gets embarrassed so no idea what any of this means but I’m putting it under flirty boys

1:02:38: Host asks their favourite scene they’ve written, directed or acted in since the show started and why

Kim: Shadow, where the boys first saw their father. He talks about the scenes and particularly the one where Dean asks Sam why does he think Dean came to get him from Stanford, because Dean wants them to be a family again. 1:03:00 Jensen pretends to wipe his eyes and audience awws. This prompts Kim to say that Jensen had a tough time with that and he and Kim had to arm wrestle over it - and Kim isn’t missed more than listening to him here, talking about Dean letting down his barriers for a fraction of a second. He got Dean and Sam and he got this show and the first few seasons are so good because they had his hands all over it. Kim says their [J2s] game of tennis improves 2000% when up against JDM and Nikki and I would agree, the casting decisions in the early seasons were phenomenal, later seasons, not so much though we still have amazing finds in Rowena and the witch twins. J2 nod pretty much throughout Kim’s answer.

1:03:55: Jared comments after Kim’s answer and says not just to say this but having a great director to tell you exactly what to do doesn’t make it hard. Jensen and I would tell you a thousand times every day that, you know, Kim got it out of us.

1:04:10: Host asks Jensen if he didn’t want to do that scene because you thought Dean wouldn’t say that? Jensen gives a really thoughtful answer. He talks about him being a little protective of Dean and him showing emotions. And he wasn’t sure how much of the layers to peel away in that scene so was putting up his own barriers and if there was anyone to get him through it, it was Kim and he’s glad he was there.

1:05:00: back to the original question about favourite scene and this time it’s John who answers with Skin. Again, he has some interesting things to say and in particular, they talk about how they want to do this monster (skinwalker), but how will Supernatural do it, how do we make it special for our show. He talks about the scene of Dean in the sewer. He says his friends sent him some online posts of a fan’s reaction to that scene. “Oh my god, Dean’s taking his shirt off!” followed immediately by “Oh my god, he’s taking his skin off!!” Jensen laughs, not sure he’s heard that before.

1:06:10: Jensen talks about filming the scene in Dead in the Water where he saves the little boy and the slow motion etc. was all really neat but the build up to that, shooting it was really (shakes head). He talks about trying to keep both him and the boy afloat with one arm while 2 divers were under water holding onto his feet ready to pull him down. He said that was overwhelming. Reading between the lines and from memory of other interviews I think he was concerned that the boy’s life was in his hands.

1:07:30: Jared talks about Wendigo and he had so many questions because of the time difference between filming the pilot and filming Wendigo about where they pick up and where they’re going and how they continue the momentum. He talks about being on the stage with Jensen and it’s the dad’s journal scene. Dean’s got dad’s journal saying what it’s all about and Sam wants to find dad and that they had 9 pages of dialogue to do so they went to practice and Jared had an acting coach who pushed and prodded Jared a little bit “and I don’t know what he did to Jensen but uh…” [Jensen’s face! Rumour iirc is he did not like the acting coach and I know he didn’t last long on set].

Jensen: I don’t want to talk about it Jared: It was noisy Jensen: Never again Jared: That’s between y’all and the wall

They got the scene and it was the first time Jared thought he was doing what Kripke wanted.

Kripke adds he remembers seeing the dailies on that scene and they were just through the roof. It was incredible Such a supportive cast and crew with each other!

1:09:15: Bob, the scene at the end of Faith. The scene between Jensen and Julie Benz where Dean says, “I’m not much for praying, but I’ll pray for you.” And Julie’s character responds, “Well that’s a miracle right there.” Bob thought it was incredibly well acted by both.

1:10:20: Kripke, agrees with all of them, but will add the scene when Dean first calls his father in Home and tells him to come to Lawrence and the way Jensen was able to try to put up walls and the walls kept coming down but… remember this is Kripke… “when the dude stuck his hand in the disposal… [everyone laughs] Kripke getting more excited: “and then the monkey starts clapping and we had that shot beneath the sink and you could actually see all the goo come out. They saw the shot in dailies and thought they would never let them use it. It’s probably the scene in the show where people watch behind their hands and that’s part of the fun of getting the reaction out of the audience. Again, completely agree with Kripke here, the show first and foremost was about horror and it’s sadly forgotten that somewhere along the way. So Kripke’s answer at this point in time for favourite scene is “garbage disposal scene in home”

The panel ends with Kripke asking for a round of applause for the crew who are in the audience for an unbelievable season. The host thanks the panel for being there and for the good work they are doing.

So a great panel, and answers some of the questions, for me at least, why the show hasn’t managed to retain some of the core magic that made the earlier seasons so special.

Kripke as the creator was very clear in his vision - sometimes manic in the delivery of it - but he had people like Singer and Gamble to balance him out and bring him back down.

The show knew why they were successful and focused on that (chemistry between J2) and they first and foremost were focussed on telling a scary story every week while weaving in the mytharc without being too heavy on mytharc, and I believe Kim helped enormously in keeping them grounded in the horror aspect with his previous work on x-files so again, he is severely missed in later episodes.

All things which have either been lost or severely watered down the futher removed from Kripke at the helm the show has gotten.

All jmho.

Next up in terms of classic panels will be Chicon 2007 - which I think was the first fan convention iirc - and I’ll cover the J2 panels and the individual panels from that, but not any other actor.

#supernatural #paleyfest 2006 #supernatural panel #jared padalecki #jensen ackles #j2 #my boys

32 notes · View notes

papermoonloveslucy · 4 years

Text

ANGELA CARTWRIGHT

September 9, 1952

Angela Margaret Cartwright was born in Altrincham, Cheshire, England, in 1952.

Shortly after Angela’s birth, the family - including older sister Veronica, also an actress - moved to Los Angeles.

She made her first film appearance at the age of three years as Paul Newman's character's daughter in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)...

and appeared with Rock Hudson and Sidney Poitier in Something of Value (1957), which was labeled ‘Adult Entertainment’.

Cartwright joined the cast of “Make Room for Daddy” (later “The Danny Thomas Show”) in 1957 at the age of five.

“Make Room for Daddy” (aka “The Danny Thomas Show”) ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. In March 1953, Danny Thomas chose Desilu Studios to film it using its three-camera method, perfected on “I Love Lucy,” which ran concurrently on CBS.

Shortly after the third season finished filming, Jean Hagen (who played Margaret, the Mother) left the show. It was explained that Margaret had died suddenly off-screen. In a four-part story arc that began in April 1957, son Rusty fell ill with the measles and Danny hired Kathy O'Hara (Marjorie Lord), a young Irish nurse, to look after him. Kathy was a widow with a little girl named Linda (then played by Lelani Sorenson). Not surprisingly, Danny quickly fell in love with Kathy, as did the kids.

When “I Love Lucy” went off the air (in its half-hour format) in 1957 and “Make Room for Daddy” was facing cancellation, CBS acquired the show and moved “Make Room for Daddy” into “Lucy's” old time slot. With the change of network, the producers also changed Kathy's daughter. Lelani Sorenson was replaced by Angela Cartwright as Linda. Linda was adopted by Danny, and the show's ratings dramatically increased. Never underestimate the ‘cute’ factor!

In “Lucy Makes Room for Danny” (LDCH S2;E2) on December 1, 1958, Lucy and Ricky sublet their Connecticut home to the Williams family (of “Make Room for Daddy”). When Lucy proves an over-protective landlady, the arguing families end up in court!

The night this “Comedy Hour” premiered, “Make Room for Daddy” also aired and concerned Little Linda’s tonsillitis, a subject previously covered by “I Love Lucy” in “Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9). Despite only a half hour passing for viewers, Linda is in perfect health when she arrives on the Ricardo’s doorstep at 9 o’clock!

This cross-over sets in motion a curious anomaly:

Lucy Ricardo meets Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) and his TV family on this episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”;

Danny Williams drives through the small town of Mayberry and meets Sheriff Taylor, which spawns “The Andy Griffith Show”;

“The Andy Griffith Show” is where the Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) character began, before getting his own show;

Gomer, although unnamed and uncredited, turns up on “The Lucy Show,” although here she is Lucy Carmichael, not Lucy Ricardo (even though both women share the maiden name McGillacuddy);

The upshot of all of this is that Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael both exist in the same world.

Along with her TV brother Rusty Hamer and Keith Thibodeux as Little Ricky, the young stars are called to testify in court about their parents’ poor behavior! Unexpectedly, the children are more polished and reasonable than their elders.

Linda gets some personal time with the judge, played by Gale Gordon. Linda suggests the final verdict: that Fred take Ethel to Florida for two months. She reasons that it will (a) cure him of being a miser, and (b) thaw his frozen ears!

RICKY RICARDO (about Linda): “She’s a regular Lucy Junior!”

In a quid-pro-quo programming move, Lucy and Desi played Lucy and Ricky on “The Danny Thomas Show” on a January 6, 1959 episode titled “Lucy Upsets the Williams Household.” While rehearsing a nightclub show together, Danny Williams invites Ricky and Lucy Ricardo to move in to his apartment. Lucy and Kathy, meanwhile, are spending up a storm at the department stores. To curb their spending, the boys cut off their charge accounts in this battle of the sexes. The character of Linda is only briefly in the story and has no scenes with Lucille Ball.

Cartwright again played Linda Williams in “Make Room For Granddaddy” (1970-71). In January 1971, once again “Daddy” and “Lucy” cross-over, with Lucille Ball playing Lucy Carter of “Here’s Lucy”, Kathy’s old friend, coming to New York for a visit.

When Danny comes home from a trip, there is a series of accidental flirtations between Lucy Carter and Danny that make her believe he is being unfaithful to Kathy. The episode is alternately titled “Lucy and the Lecher” and (less controversially) “Lucy, the Houseguest.” Angela is then 18 years old. This time she gets to stay in the room for Lucy’s arrival!

In 1965 Angela played the role of Brigitta Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music, perhaps her most recognizable role, in one of the most famous films of all time. The film also featured “Lucy” alumni Norma Varden (as housekeeper Frau Schmidt), as well as background actors Leoda Richards, Bert Stevens, Norman Stevans, Bernard Sell, Monty O’Grady, William Meader, Sam Harris, Gertrude Astor, Leon Alton, and Steve Carruthers. The original stage musical (which did not feature Cartwright) was on Broadway at the same time that Lucille Ball was doing Wildcat. The musical’s composers, Rodgers and Hammerstein (aka Dick and Oscar) were frequently mentioned on “I Love Lucy.”

Also in 1965, Cartwright returned to television to play Penny, youngest member of the Space Family Robinson, on “Lost in Space” (1965-68). The Irwin Allen science fiction series went from a black and white drama in its first season, to a color comedy in its second and third. In the season one opening credits, the only character identified by name is Penny. Cartwright was 13 when the series began. “Lucy” alumni who made guest appearances in “Space” include Fritz Feld, Reta Shaw, Wally Cox, Michael J. Pollard, Strother Martin, John Carradine, Hans Conried (who also played her Uncle Tonoose on “Daddy”), Al Lewis, Stanley Adams, Arte Johnson, Norman Leavitt, Helen Kleeb, and Janos Prohaska. Cartwright has remained involved in the franchise, doing cameo appearances in the 1998 re-boot and the 2019 TV series.

Cartwright was back on the Desilu lot to guest star on two episodes of “My Three Sons” in 1965 and 1969.

Angela’s older sister Veronica made two appearances with her sister on “Make Room for Daddy” in 1959 and 1961, one with Lucy’s good friend and co-star Bob Hope. Veronica also appeared on “The Twilight Zone,” a show introduced on “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” in 1958 with Desi Arnaz standing in for Rod Serling as host.

Angela Cartwright married actor Steve Gullion in 1976. They have two children.

She has been a photographer for 30 years. She is also a fashion designer. Her work is displayed at her studio in Studio City, Los Angeles.

23 notes · View notes

nissakii · 3 years

Text

Hataraku Saibou, journey through your body continues! [Breakfast Anime]

The inside of the body is the home of roughly 37 trillion cells who work eagerly and energetically each day to keep the body working.

Hataraku Saibou the journey through our body!

Let’s start our new series with our own body, diving into the next anime you can watch while enjoying your daily breakfast!

What exactly is a breakfast anime you may ask?

Basically something more light-hearted to watch in the morning while you eat your breakfast, while Hataraku Saibou may not be a typical breakfast anime for everyone it was still something that lifted up the mood and started the day thinking about our own body before heading into the rush of life once more.

In this post I will give you a slight insight of Hataraku Saibou 2 and why you should watch it, spoiler-free of course.

Hataraku Saibou or also known as Cells at work! is an anime that is not only for entertainment but also accurately teaches the viewer things about our own body and what is going on inside, making us more aware that all what we are doing is affecting our body in the end.

We already got to know a lot of characters in season one with its 13 Episodes back in 2018 and since the popular anime seemed like it wasn’t enough to tell all the viewers who enjoyed the show about our own cells, in the beginning of 2020 the second season started airing adding another 8 Episodes on top!

As the first season showed us all kinds of interesting scenarios such as allergies, colds, hemorrhage and even the conflict of cancer cells in our body in many interesting ways the second season doesn’t come short with even more special scenarios happening inside.

While we got to know about the overall concept and how the cells work with each other in season two for those who forgot there are still short introductions coming for each single character.

Plot

Like mentioned before as the first season already showed us many interesting fights, correlations between characters and even an almost dramatic end of the body with one of our main characters the red blood cell AE3803 dying, as well as the birth and death of cancer cells and the way they perceive themselves of being just an equal cell as any other cell in the body.

In season two we get to learn about new things, as we slowly get a recap in little bits of relevant pieces of what had happened before, characters being reintroduced or important processes with new information are explained.

Also what makes the anime plot so fascinating is that this isn’t just simply a little story about some cells but very true to the reality of what is happening in our body just a bit easier explained, as you can see even some little things out of our biology classes being shown there in much more detail than expected.

From Antigens and Antibodies, to the usual routine of white blood cells the second season keeps the amount of action, splatter and comedy as well as the interesting dynamics like those of T-killer cells, NK cell, Mast cell and all the other characters that we know just like in the first season if not even a bit better due to many new things happening.

To not tell you too much, the second season yet again turns the tables towards the end as many (and not only one) plot-twists make the ending unnerving as we do not know if the body could see it through or not.

The topic being about the body makes you wonder if the author could just turn it all around like in our daily lives, sudden deaths or accidents happen which would also affect it on the inside as seen in season one.

Unlike season one, season two had much more bigger arcs that covered more than two episodes despite it being a short anime with only 8.

Concluding, season two did not make a repeating plot which could bore you after watching 13 Episodes already but makes you wonder what the next episodes are about since each and every episode tells us another scenario happening in our bodies.

Characters

New season, new characters at least that’s what most people think and there is also a truth to it yet we see many recurring characters.

Red Blood Cells

Just like in season one we already see in the beginning of season two all of the familiar faces and especially our cute little deliveryservice the Red Blood Cells!

In the rush of getting nutrients and oxygen to every cell no matter how tight the alley might be, the job of many red blood cells is to cover every and each one of them so the cells can function properly.

Our main character from season one and also in season two is the red blood cell AE3803 who is among the red blood cell a very clumsy one and known to get lost easily and being a tad simple-minded, yet worries a lot and cares about her new underling the new red blood cell at her side who might seem like the older one sometimes. We also see her being the one who cares a lot about the white blood cell U1146 as she always checks if he is resting properly, cheers him on or even searches for him after a fight since they grew very close after season one. She also is very fond of the platelets as she is easily carried away to either spoil them, play with them or take care of them making her forget about her own work from time to time, she never ceases to find them less cute no matter how often she sees them.

White Blood Cells

Another character we know well is among the white blood cells we also get to see even more often in the second season, especially the ones affiliated with our main character U1146 who surely had more screen time than any other character this season.

Despite his aggressive nature to protect the body from germs at all costs, U1146 has a very soft spot for the red blood cell AE3803, platelets and a few other characters but the formers are maybe the one he just cannot leave out of his vision.

He is often patrolling the body, seen killing germs or helping around even if it is not his job as we already saw in season one that he tried his best to also help the red blood cells and other cells around him when there is not something he has to take care of first.

Despite that being eager and narrow-minded considering his only target to kill germs, he is often viewed as an idiot or softie by Killer T cells and also as scary by some other cells since he doesn’t hesitate just like his other companions the row down any germ that appears.

Killer T Cells

Despite that we have the white blood cells that protect the body from germs there are also Killer T cells who are even stronger than the white blood cells as they can kill germs with just one punch if needed.

Killer T are depicted as much stronger and almost military-like people in the body next to the other cells as they march around in their daily routine and are more on the harsh side as the commander of Killer T cell often looks down on U1146 telling him he is a softie for being considerate towards the other cells and helping them instead of using his time to train and only focus on germs.

As we saw in season one along with the NK cell Killer T was able to even defeat cancer cells when needed and is shown to be able to punch through tissues of the body easily. He is very strong-built but also obnoxiously loud and a hothead as he is easily offended and has a big ego.

Despite that he is shown to have a kind and soft core as he used to be very weak prior to becoming a T cell in his apprenticeship, making the T helper cell one of his childhood friends but also a strong rival.

Platelets

For their size they are still important when damage happens like wounds as they are the little constructor workers of the body.

Under the supervision of the white blood cells the little platelets show off their flexibility and agility as they work together to stop the blood from rushing out of the wound and form a fibrin net to stop the bleeding and glue the wound back together.

They are well-liked by everyone as they are smaller than the usual cells or red and white blood cells yet work their hardest to transport things in boxes usually bigger than their own size.

Never seen alone and always in a group the most reliable of the platelets is their leader who keeps the others in track.

Germs

As the antagonists the germs in their many forms and sizes appear throughout season one but also in season two with different designs for each bacteria. Despite them being always defeated by other immune cells they don’t back off and try to invade the body through any opening that comes their way. They even take hostages if needed or cheat. Surprisingly the design often matches the germ’s name as it’s not far away from what it’s supposed to represent.

Animation

Like in season one the animation still keeps depicting many fighting scenes and doesn’t cut off with dynamic and action scenes in a very good quality. The character’s appearance almost stayed the same if not with slight changes that are almost unnoticeable. Especially towards the last episodes the many action-filled and dramatic fights that appeared had a good animation in which the viewer firstly is sucked into the whole tragedy of it all but also is not left with empty hands when a good fight is happening.

Voices

One thing that we can appreciate as well are the ever so familiar voices we find again in Hataraku Saibou season 2. As for example many popular japanese voice actors like Nobuhiko (voice of Bakugo, Nishinoya, Accelerator etc) as the Dendritic cell whose soft personality has a little bit of a twist in it but also Hanazawa as the red blood cell (known for her voice of Mitsuri in Demon slayer, Chiaki from Danganronpa 2 or Mayuri from Steins Gate). We also have many others under them Daisuke Ono as Killer T or Kikuo Inoue as Macrophage. Even the Memory T Cell who shares his overdramatic personality with many characters who Yuichi Nakamura voices ( Kuroo from Haikyuu, Hawks from BNHA and Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen).

I personally love to see the voice actors of many characters I enjoyed in other series sharing the same voice in another series, it’s fun to suddenly hear them in a totally different environment as seeing Nobuhiko who is known for his eccentric characters he voices suddenly voicing the Dendritic Cell.

Spin-off

Already watched Hataraku Saibou and just didn’t get enough? Or maybe it was a tad too happy for your tastes?

Maybe for the darker mode of Hataraku Saibou you should watch the spin-off that is still airing: Hataraku Saibou Black!

Despite it being very close in a sense of the dynamics and character construction it’s a much sadder version since it plays in a body that is living an unhealthy lifestyle consumes alcohol, smokes and even more making you overthink how your actions play out inside of your body.

I didn’t watch it yet but already the trailer sent down shivers as I watched especially the other version of the red blood cells looking much more gloomy and living through an almost dystopian like world compared to an almost healthy body of the original first work.

Many Manga readers of Hataraku Saibou black already mentioned that they overthought and became more aware of their own body and how they treat it after reading the many tragedies happening in a body that is functioning on high stress, junk food and so on.

This is not the only spin-off but the franchise today splits into many others as there is a Cell not at work version, a bacteria one and even the platelets have their own time to shine as well in their own series.

Conclusion

All in All Hataraku Saibou is a very good anime to watch when not wanting something overly dramatic yet interesting that also boosts your awareness throughout the day. It may not be the perfect breakfast anime due to the splatter and maybe some people may find the idea of watching something correlated to the inside of one’s own body while eating breakfast a bit bewildering but it has a good potential if you are not sensitive to the factors stated.

It also puts a little smile on the faces with the little comedic dynamics and heart-touching moments, as well as learning something new about the body since even the knowledge shared in the anime is accurate to what is happening in real life just a bit more simplified.

Until then, let’s kill all the germs!

-Makii

Original Source

3 notes · View notes

capnmarvell · 4 years

Text

I’m bored so I decided to put together my theory on what the first cour of season 2 is gonna look like. This is pretty standard, but I wanted to put this out there so I can see how off I was when the season starts.

Spoilers under the cut!

Episode 1: Chapter 43 & Ending of Chapter 45

I think it makes a lot of sense that the first episode of the season be this, because it reintroduces a lot of the main characters we deal with (Tohru/Kyo/Yuki/Uo/Hana/Momiji/Haru) while also introducing, officially, Rin and establishing her relationship with Haru and their break up. Also reminds the audience of the gang’s teacher, Mayu, as she will come up a lot more later.

Episode 2: Chapter 36 & 42

Starting the episode off with Yuki and Tohru visiting Ayame’s shop, especially after my guess of the first episode is a good because in Chapter 43 Yuki notices Kyo protecting Tohru, and then here he “flirts” with Tohru because that’s what he thinks he’s suppose to do. Plus, we already got a sneak peak of Mine in the season 1 second cour opening, so it makes sense to me that they’d introduce her early in season 2. And based on my own shot my shot of the season 2 trailer, it can be assumed we are getting another Prince Yuki Fan Club episode, so makes sense to make this whole episode Yuki-centric by making the second half of the episode about the club trying to find out if a girl Machi is going to be on the student council.

Episode 3: Chapter 46 & 47

Already established in season 1 ep 25 that summer is coming soon, so this last school related episode needed to be within the first 5 episodes, I think. We get Uo bringing up meeting Kureno, and the Career Goals & Parent/Teacher conferences set up for after summer break, Kyoru!, and Shigure’s laundry metaphor. And with the first half having a lot of Kyo, it balances out with ending the episode with Yuki’s quality time moment with Ayame.

Episode 4: Chapter 48 & 49

Okay, don’t hate me, but....I feel like they won’t include the Haunted House portion of Chapter 48. I get that it’s very funny and a fan favorite, but the big moments in that chapter were the announcement of summer vacation, and Rin’s introduction. The Haunted House was filler. Since we already got Rin’s introduction, I think the episode will have some additional stuff with Kakeru and Machi, as they are important but we don’t see them for 14ish chapters after this so they’ll want to have a bit stronger introductions so new fans remember them.

Episode 5: Chapter 50

I was debating what they would combine Kureno and Uo’s chapter with, but then I kept thinking ‘there really isn’t any other chapter that would make sense.’ So I would guess they might give these two their own episode. They might throw in more filler between Uo, Tohru, Hana, and Megumi at the end, or with Kureno to establish him more, but otherwise this episode will solely be about them I think.

Episode 6: Chapter 52 & 53

A much anticipated Kyoru episode for my anyway, with Kyo and Tohru visiting Kazuma at his home. We get introduced to a favorite small character of mine, Kunimitsu, but we also get introduced to Kyo’s birth father. Combining this chapter with chapter 53 also helps segue us into the Summer House arc, gives us another touch of Rin, and more details on the Hat.

Episode 7: Chapter 54 & 55

The Beach House arc is very expansive, but with the Hatori chapters it’s a nice break up of them. 54 and 55 have nice fun bits, lulling the fans into a false sense of security of what these next few episodes will entail. The last 15 - 10 minutes will have that bit with Tohru reacting to what Hiro said about her parents, and Kyo being the only one to notice that something is off with her.

Episode 8: Chapter 56 & 57

Like I said, a nice break before we get to the dark stuff. And even then this episode would get pretty sad since we’re learning about Mayu, and her own past with Hatori, Kana, and Shigure. But it gets lighter towards the end with Mayu and Hatori reuniting and hinting at the two of them finding happiness with each other. We also don’t see much of the two together again until the end of the series, so I’m hoping for a bit more hints of the two seeing each other later on in the anime - since we got more scenes with Ritsu and Mitchan I want more Mayu and Hatori!

Episode 9: Chapter 58 & 59

And here we go into some “fun” times. Smashing watermelons and Kyo and Tohru talking about their parents, Akito arrives at the Summer house, forcing the zodiac away from Tohru and Kyo jokes on you Akito, Tohru is happy being alone with Kyo, Akito and Yuki have their private confrontation, we find out Yuki was the one who saved Tohru when she was lost, and we also get Yuki’s internal “confession” of ‘I love you’ regarding Tohru.

Episode 10: Chapter 60 & 61

Definitely gonna be building up some tension here, Akito there lurking over them all, pulling the zodiac away from Tohru, as well as Tohru finally meeting Rin. Great cliffhanger for the episode too, with Akito dramatically demanding they bring Kyo the next day.

Episode 11: Chapter 62 & 63

WOW. This is a very big episode for Kyoru fans. We get Kyo and Akito’s confrontation, as well as learning about their bet, and Kyo’s realization that he is in love with Tohru, and the flashbacks showing Kyoko and revealing that Kyo appeared to have known Kyoko as a child. It’s a very big episode, but also leads into an even BIGGER episode. I can only imagine the stress we’ll all be feeling.

Episode 12: Chapter 64 & 65

Oh, the biggie. I, personally, am not ready to see my boy Momiji getting hurt, but we’ll have to. We have Tohru and Akito’s confrontation and Akito telling her of the zodiac’s destiny, including Kyo’s, and Akito’s role in the zodiac as well. We also have Tohru’s introduction to Kureno, and Tohru’s decision to break the curse.

Episode 13: Chapter 66 & 67

Now, I would think the first cour would end with the Beach House arc, but the first cour of season 1 ended with episode 13, so I think this will also be ending with episode 13 too. Plus, with the second teaser trailer, we hear Tohru say “I want to try to break the curse.” And she thinks that to herself at the end of Chapter 65, but she also says that to Kazuma in chapter 67, so it’s not too out there to think that’s where the clip is from. And, we are introduced to the remaining members of the Student Council working with Yuki, which makes sense to me to introduce the last of the members before the end of the first cour. So I think ending the first cour with them returning to school and Tohru reaching out to Kazuma for knowledge on how to break the curse is a good ending point, and sort of wraps the whole first cour up nicely.

#fruits basket #fruits basket spoilers #fruits basket season 2 #fruits basket anime #fruits basket manga spoilers

74 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer Review – Richard Ramirez Docuseries Speaks Plainly

https://ift.tt/3bvDDPw

Netflix dives into one of the most horrifying cases of multiple murders with its eyes wide open in Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. The documentary is told from the perspective of the investigators at the heart of the case, particularly a veteran homicide detective and his young, enthusiastic partner. They had nothing going into the case, and when they did dig out the clues, they often lost what they had because of its newsworthiness. The series works because it treats the audience the same way as the cops were treated: infuriatingly.

Every clue, setback, and recalculation in Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is satisfyingly frustrating. We all know the story by now, so director Tiller Russell can leisurely fill in the plot. We don’t even get the name of the serial killer until the end of the third episode. It’s not in the title, and if the detectives don’t know it, the series won’t disclose it. This is an internal affair, and early disclosures to the media contaminate clues like dancing on a crime scene in a pair of size 12 Avia sneakers.

The four-part series opens in a hot and happy Los Angeles, filled with glossy tinsel and hair metal. The city hosted the Olympics in 1984, and the Lakers were international superstars. Archival weather reports continually update a sweltering heat wave, and the citizens cool off leisurely and diversely. But not after dark, where the bulk of the docu-series is set. That is LA Noir. The same kind of darkness that crept into the headlines when the Black Dahlia murder struck, but more similar to the Manson Family killings.

One bad boy, who will later be described as having incredible sex appeal, rips the nightlife apart. At the time, though, all anyone knows about him is he has bad teeth, smells like a goat, and loves AC/DC. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer captures the mid-eighties period well, with archival TV news and clips of then-current shows. When the events turn creepy, Max Headroom is playing on a black and white TV in the distance, almost out of focus.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Gil Carrillo and renowned homicide cop Frank Salerno are great storytellers whose obvious gravitas centers the documentary. There is one other standout from law enforcement. San Francisco Police Department homicide Inspector Frank Falzon actually breaks down what it’s like to be goaded into punching a possible witness. He completely explains the forces which lead him to do it. The frustration, the horrid images of the case which flashed into his mind. The disgust he felt at the actual details. Carrillo has a similar incident, convinced of a suspect who fits too perfectly only to be told “He’s a freak, but not your freak.” But his defining moment probably comes when he can’t bear to even listen to a discussion of putting a child who had been sexually assaulted on the stand to testify.

Even though we know how it ends, the limited docu-series captures the race against the clock tension of the summer of 1985. Initially tagged “The Walk-In Killer” and “The Valley Intruder” by the press, the satanic beast prowling Los Angeles came to be known as “The Night Stalker.” His crimes seemed disconnected because the victims were so varied. Serial killers usually have a specific type of victim. The Night Stalker’s crimes appeared to be random. “There was no pattern,” a detective bemoans in an interview.

The detectives get blowback from inside and out. We hear about an important theory being laughed out of a meeting. Investigators have to deal with cops in different districts not sharing information, as multiple jurisdictions spark “a pissing match between Type A dudes.” The investigators don’t only have to deal with the media blowing the case. They get the information from a politician who releases details which tip off the suspect. Many of these details have never been told.

We also get to hear Laurel Erickson and Paul Skolnick, the journalists who covered the story from the beginning, explain why they were so eager for details, and where they drew the line. Like the Hillside Strangler, who had recently been caught by Salerno’s homicide team, the Night Stalker was a once-in-a-lifetime case. Not only to the press, police and politicians, but to the community, which ultimately plays the most emotionally satisfying part in the documentary. When the suspect is caught in East Los Angeles, he tells the arresting officers “Thank God you came.”

The mystery unfolds through first-person interviews with victims who lived through the attacks, some of whom were allowed to survive. One woman remembers being dropped off at a gas station to call someone to take her home after the killer had sexually assaulted her in a dingy room. She was a child when that happened, one of the youngest of the Night Stalker’s victims. They ranged in age from six to 82; were men, women and children; some affluent, others poor; and of a mix of races. Anyone could be the next victim. The persistent updates on the heatwave accentuate this, because in a town under siege no one can sleep with their windows open. After Charles Manson had been caught, the people in Los Angeles didn’t feel the need to lock their doors, the documentary asserts. Now residents barred their windows.

Books

The Last Book on the Left Takes on the Grim History of Serial Killers

By Alec Bojalad

Movies

Crazy, Not Insane Doc Studies Serial Killers’ Minds on HBO

By Tony Sokol

The assailant also varied his weaponry, using knives, hammers, tire irons, and a .22 caliber pistol. The savage specter takes on an almost occult status when the investigators find pentagrams drawn and carved on walls, and occasionally on victims. The killer gouged the eyes out of one woman. He used thumb cuffs, which comes as a visual surprise to the detective recounting it. He relives that one moment of discovery with both a personal revulsion and a cop’s curiosity. He still hasn’t gotten his head around it, and it’s only one detail. Like an Avia sneaker, size 11 and a half, the only one shipped to Los Angeles since the company was founded.

There have been several features on the notorious killer at the center of Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. Chris Fisher’s film Nightstalker (2002), Ulli Lommel’s Nighstalker from 2009, and Megan Griffiths’ The Night Stalker (2016). His story was dramatized in the 1989 TV movie Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker. Zach Villa played Ramirez on American Horror Story: 1984. Director Russell, whose father worked in the Dallas DA’s office, grew up in courthouses, jails and police precincts.He keeps his focus steadily on the investigators and the victims.

Russell presents the evidence plainly. Emotionally, he wants to present the feel that anyone in the horrific footage could have been a viewer or someone they know. He never treats the victims like statistics. We get personal stories, like one told by a granddaughter remembering how she preferred a grandma who did cartwheels over any necklace heirloom which could be bequeathed. The documentary occasionally lets the camera wander around recreated footage too long, and takes leisurely pauses of action with only music over grim background sets to amplify the atmosphere. We also get the occasional emotion-cam closeup, with a frozen face willing a testimony into a camera wordlessly.

The first glimmer of a name the documentary provides for the suspect is Richard Mena, who is being treated for an impacted tooth. Richard Ramirez actually doesn’t get much screen time. We get a very curt statement on why he turned out the way he did. “All the things that could poison a child were part of his life,” a detective explains. The only detail is a recollection of how Ramirez was tied to a cross in a cemetery overnight as a reprimand from his religious father. Ramirez explains himself throughout, although without credit until we learn the quotes and affirmations come from a recorded interview the Night Stalker gave from prison. But we never learn how Satan was “a stabilizing force in his life,” which prompted “a motivational charge.”

The documentary explores the killer-groupie phenomenon, but it is from the amazed and uncomprehending reactions of the investigating officers, and the families of the victims. They don’t get it. The journalists who covered it have never seen anything like it. It proves everything about the case is unprecedented. We see Ramirez, upon sentencing, tell the families, as well as the judge, jurors and investigating officers: “You don’t understand me. You are not expected to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience.” The doc cuts his last lines, “I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells in us all.” What replaces it is a snippet of Ramirez requesting a promise that his recorded interviews be erased after his death.

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is a satisfyingly exhaustive account of the investigation into the Richard Ramirez murder-and-assault-spree. But know it is limited to the crimes and the cities they were committed in. Los Angeles is a bigger character in the documentary than Ramirez. The docu-series isn’t about him. It’s about what he did, and the people he did it to. Survivors describe his very presence in the court as “evil,” and the documentary resolutely chalks the case up as a triumph for good. By following the timelines so deliberately, Russell lays out the arc of a perfect detective story. That being said, I could have watched two more installments on the villain and collateral damage.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer streams on Netflix on Jan. 13.

The post Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer Review – Richard Ramirez Docuseries Speaks Plainly appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3oCCmtv

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

2 notes · View notes

turtle-paced · 4 years

Text

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

I thought I could probably do this for a series I love, too.

They won’t all be as dense (and long) as this recap (’The Great Divide’, anyone?), and no set schedule. But I hope someone enjoys reading this, because I enjoyed writing it.

Also, this isn’t going to be spoiler-free. Analysis assumes familiarity with the entire series.

Book 1, Episode 1 - The Boy in the Iceberg

(0:07) The series starts with an intro. It’s a bloody good intro. First, we go through the four elements and the styles, showing Pakku, Azula, and Aang.

(0:19) Then we see a map - and if you know what you’re looking for, you can find a bunch of the landmarks visited or mentioned over the course of the series - while the voiceover starts talking about her own historical knowledge. Before the story properly starts, we get the sense of a character as well as the history. This gives us the setting. Four nations, one Avatar to keep balance between them, but this was “the old days”.

(0:34) “But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” We pan to a shot of Fire Nation soldiers, who we can already tell are industrialised. More to the point, the animation shows the Fire Nation attacking, and they’re attacking the fourth wall. This helps get across the point; though the show goes into detail that the Fire Nation is made up of ordinary people, and the Fire Nation has suffered from the war as well, the war is nevertheless unambiguously wrong. Before we meet a single Fire Nation citizen, before we get a good non-intro look at the setting, the Fire Nation’s soldiers have already shot fireballs right at the neutral, uninvolved viewer.

(0:46) We’re told that what makes the Avatar different is his ability to use all four elements, and we see Roku doing so. We also see Roku vanish. So we’ve got this big, central tension in the setting established. The world is out of balance from the Fire Nation’s war of conquest, and the means of addressing this imbalance is AWOL.

(0:50) This brings us from the old days to the present of the story, where the Fire Nation are winning.

(0:59) We get more information on the character speaking. From the shots of ice and ships, a viewer might accurately guess by this stage that we’re listening to someone from the Water Tribes. Her father and the other men of her tribe left two years ago, leaving her and her brother behind. So this gives us some idea of the immediate circumstances we’ll be jumping into. Including a solid indication that the Water Tribes are patriarchal.

(1:12) Then, the most intimate character detail: the speaker, this Water Tribe girl, has not lost hope that the Avatar will return. We pan over an empty rock spire, up to the sky and the title screen.

This is a bloody good intro because in just over a minute, it’s given us an overview of the political state of the setting and the magic system in use. It gave us the narration, but it also showed the difference between the styles, the lines of the map, the Fire Nation attacking, and the Avatar using all four bending styles. On top of that, it gave us varying levels of detail as to the personal character context of Katara (who’s already got inner life), Sokka, and Aang (by implication, as the missing Avatar).

It took them just over a minute to do all that. Over the course of the series, we’ll see that the writers know how to say a lot with a little.

(2:00) The story proper starts with the siblings in the intro in a boat, in some very icy waters, a long way from anywhere. They’re fishing. We get a name for Katara.

(2:19) Katara grimaces and tentatively starts trying to waterbend the fish into the boat. So we see already that while she’s able to bend, she’s not got a whole lot of skill. We also get Sokka’s name at this point.

(2:40) Sokka ignores his sister in favour of concentrating on his own work and complains about Katara’s bending. He’s already the meat and sarcasm guy! More importantly, from his comments, it would appear that he isn’t able to bend. What’s also quickly apparent is that he doesn’t have all that much patience with Katara’s experimentation, and as a non-bender, does not feel this as a means of connection to his own culture (while Katara does).

(2:59) Sokka’s making muscles at his own reflection shows us early one of the biggest character flaws he’s going to have to work on: teenage insecurity.

(3:31) The show doesn’t go into detail here, but with the boat smashed, Katara and Sokka are in a real bad situation. ’The Desert’ levels of bad situation.

(3:42) Sokka is explicitly sexist here. The fact that he’s so openly sexist, to his sister’s face, is another solid indicator that the Water Tribes as a whole are patriarchal.

(3:49) While this is pretty straightforward ‘Katara gets angry and accidentally waterbends an iceberg into pieces’, look at the movement of the water following the movement of her arms. Specifically, we see waterbending when Katara makes those big dramatic sweeps of her arms, not when she’s making little jabbing motions towards Sokka. Who wants to bet that if Katara were a firebender, the accidental bending would be from the jabs, rather than the arm-waving? The animators put a lot of hard work and thought into the bending and it shows.

(4:29) The fact that Katara’s outburst was a fairly normal sibling disagreement is reinforced by the fact that Sokka immediately puts his arm around Katara to help steady her as they cling to the ice. They might shout at each other, but they’ve also got each other’s backs when things turn more serious.

(4:37) A glowing light appears beneath the water, quickly followed by another huge-ass iceberg. Even aside from the glowing and the vague figures inside it, this is also clearly not a natural iceberg. Far too round.

(5:12) Confronted with a strange glowing figure in a giant ice ball, Katara’s first reaction is “we have to help” and running forward to do so. An establishing character moment that shows her compassion, her courage, and her proactive nature. Sokka, by contrast, is more cautious - he follows Katara, but he emphasises that they don’t know what this is.

(5:37) When Katara breaks the iceberg, a giant beam of light flashes up to the sky, in a giant signal for anyone and everyone in the area, ‘Inciting Incident!’

(5:46) Establishing shot of a metal ship. Despite the hard lines and points marking this out as a Fire Nation ship like in the intro, the ship is all in blue-grey. No black. No Fire Nation colours.

(5:49) Someone else is involved in this inciting incident, too. A young man with red and black armour - so likely to be an antagonist, going by colour-coding - and a nasty scar on his face which can be identified as a burn scar. One shot and we can see that a) this guy is Fire Nation and b) this guy has been seriously hurt by fire. The first thing he says is “finally,” which tells the viewer that a) he’s been looking out for something of this nature and b) he’s been doing this for a while. Two seconds of looking at Zuko, folks. It’s some information-dense storytelling.

(5:54) Our as-yet-unnamed antagonist turns to “uncle” on the deck and asks him whether he knows what this means. Iroh’s first seen playing a game and drinking tea (from a Fire Nation-themed teapot), complaining that he won’t get to finish it.

(6:13) A quick exchange of dialogue and we’ve got Zuko’s name and title. It’s explicitly confirmed that Zuko is searching for a “him” who is incredibly powerful. Iroh, by contrast, is not fully on board with Zuko’s goals and wary of his nephew’s obsession. He’s motivated primarily by concern for Zuko’s wellbeing.

But what I paused here for is this single, throwaway shot, where we get to see Iroh’s game. The Fire Nation is big into fire supremacy, but Iroh’s playing a game where the ‘suits’ of his tiles are represented by all four elements. (The designs are in red, so I’m wondering if this is a colonial game, or whether fire is highest in the suit ranking.) You can see in the corners that there are secondary symbols on each tile representing the previous element in the Avatar cycle, and if you cared to, you could probably work out some of the rules to the game. And as Zuko and Iroh discuss the location of the (air) Avatar, Iroh’s trying to work out where to put his air tile.

This series has so many details like this. It’s nuts. It’s also one of the things that makes rewatching this show really, really cool. And worth it.

(6:25) “I don’t need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!” Zuko shouts. Aside from the joke, this does get to some of the deeper issues here. Zuko’s not calm. He lashes out at people in his anger, which can be provoked by some pretty trivial things. He also considers capturing the Avatar to be a need.

Meanwhile, what’s on the surface the start of a joke about Iroh’s tea obsession is also an introduction to Iroh’s campaign to get Zuko to look after himself. Sit down and enjoy some tea. Sleep. Eat. Get a hobby. Do something that’s not unhealthily brooding about his mission to find the Avatar, and by extension, earning the approval of his abusive dad.

(6:52) Cut to commercial break on Katara and Sokka staring up apprehensively at a glowing, expressionless Aang.

(7:07) Other side of commercial break, Aang collapses down the slope, gets caught by Katara, and poked in the head by Sokka. Tension deflated! Not to mention repositions Aang so that the audience can see his vulnerability.

(7:17) Aang wakes up and stares into Katara’s face. This is a real love at first sight moment. Personally, I never thought the series was going anywhere but Kataang; the question wasn’t so much ‘are they in love?’ but ‘can they deal with their romantic feelings maturely enough to be in a relationship?’ Not until the end of the series, they can’t.

(7:30) Then we get our first idea of Aang’s character as he plays up the ‘tired and wounded’ demeanour, only to grin widely and ask Katara if she wants to go penguin-sailing with him. Mischievous, fun-loving, social. His enthusiasm for animals is also demonstrated.

I also love our first brief look at airbending, which Aang just uses to help him get around on the ice. (The first look we got at waterbending was similarly utilitarian.) Unlike Katara at this point, Aang is clearly a good enough airbender to use his arts almost without thought. Airbending is just something he can do.

(7:43) Meanwhile, Sokka wants to know why Aang isn’t frozen. Speaking of characterisation. Sokka wants to know how this surviving in an iceberg thing worked.

(7:55) We get a name for Appa before we get a good look at Appa. Aang’s rush to Appa and address of his bison as “buddy” establishes that Appa’s not just a pack animal but a friend.

(8:02) And the fact that Appa is not a common animal in the area is first conveyed by Sokka’s spectacular jaw drop.

(8:17) “Flying bison” is our first introduction to the weird and wonderful animals of the Avatar universe. Six legs included.

(8:32) Again, because this show is really good, I just want to highlight Aang’s simple advice to Sokka that the bison snot will wash out as excellent early characterisation. Aang’s not laughing at Sokka, he’s clearly aware of the non-effect of bison snot on clothing (implying that he’s been the one to do laundry before when a bison has sneezed on him), and he focused on a simple thing that can be done about the unpleasant situation of being covered in bison snot.

(8:46) Katara and Sokka disagree about whether Aang’s a spy for the Fire Navy. This tells us a bit about how Katara and Sokka each approach situations. Katara’s looking at the person in front of her. Sokka’s thinking of the broader situation and potential implications. And they’re both right - Katara’s correct that Aang is not a Fire Nation spy, her read on him better than Sokka’s. Sokka’s correct that the giant beam of light could attract Fire Nation attention, because as we’ve already seen, it has.

This is actually one of the things that makes Sokka one of the best depictions of “the smart guy” I’ve seen, and one of the things that makes the cast as a whole so compelling. The resident smart guy doesn’t know everything, doesn’t think of everything, and has personal issues (in this case, his untrusting nature) that get in the way of clear analysis sometimes, so he doesn’t just benefit from alternative points of view but outright needs them to be fully effective. Meanwhile, Sokka’s not monopolising the team brain, and the rest of the cast can and do make regular, intelligent contributions to group planning. Everyone gets to be smart.

Also worth noting for the future, Katara sees the Fire Nation as evil, and Sokka does not disagree.

(9:10) With a mighty sneeze and an undeniable display of airbending, we get Aang’s name.

(9:21) While the subtitle “the Last Airbender” is a bit of a giveaway to the viewer that Aang is the only surviving human airbender we’ll see in the series, Katara and Sokka’s lack of immediate recognition of airbending and Sokka’s “pfffft yeah” reaction are the first in-universe indications that airbending, much like flying bison, is not often seen in the area.

(9:25) Sokka also refers to “midnight sun madness”, and indeed, while more than a day passes in these first two episodes, we don’t see actual nightfall. This is actually a bit of an inconsistency. The constant sunshine at the South Pole indicates that it’s summer there, yet as soon as we hit the Earth Kingdom, even the southern Earth Kingdom, it’s winter. So this is a minor error, something’s real off with the hemispheres of Avatar world, or the South Pole is the only thing in the series we see in the southern hemisphere.

This is also the sort of inconsistency I’m more than prepared to forgive, because it’s been done to keep the show’s timeline comprehensible and balanced. The series starts at the beginning of winter and ends at the end of summer. One season per element - water in winter, earth in spring, fire in summer.

(9:42) “The Desert”-style crisis averted via Appa’s presence, even if he’s not flying. Though since he’s got a saddle, the fact that Appa is a means of transportation was already clear.

(10:42) Meanwhile, on the Fire Nation ship, Zuko is out of armour and brooding.

(10:54) Iroh first hints, then openly states, that Zuko should get some sleep. (Sun’s still up!) But yes, again, we’re being shown that Zuko’s pursuit isn’t just an unquiet mind but not healthy, and Iroh’s trying not just to look after him, but to get him to look after himself. This includes outright discouraging Zuko from questing at all.

(11:12) Zuko’s response is a telling one. He’s not this dedicated to the goal out of the simple belief that the Avatar is alive and that capturing him would be good for the Fire Nation. It’s unclear at this point how or why Zuko’s honour could hinge on the capture of the Avatar, but it is clear that it’s a personal obligation to him.

(11:41) Katara knows Aang if he knows what happened to the Avatar. On Katara’s side, we see the importance of the Avatar to her. About all she can do to learn what happened to the Avatar is ask the new guy ‘what happened to the Avatar?’ and this is exactly what she’s done.

On Aang’s side, he still doesn’t know what’s going on - he thinks he’s been in the iceberg for a few days. He doesn’t know that the subtext of Katara’s question is ‘do you know how the war can be stopped, my family returned to me, and my home and culture preserved?’ His most recent experience is that being the Avatar loses him friends and family. So he lies and avoids that particular uncomfortable truth.

Though from the ‘just curious’ we can see that Katara doesn’t have much actual expectation that Aang will be able to give her a useful answer. Plus her non-reaction is used to make Aang’s denial all the more awkward for him.

(12:17) We get a sepia-toned nightmare sequence of Aang ending up in that iceberg. He and Appa were flying along when they got caught in a storm and dragged underneath the waves.

(12:30) Then Aang starts glowing, his demeanour drastically changes, and he waterbends the iceberg. Though it might be obvious from the title Avatar: the Last Airbender, the fact that Aang can use both airbending and waterbending would, per the intro, be a demonstration that he’s the Avatar. The show shows us these things.

(12:46) When Katara wakes Aang up, we get a shot from her perspective emphasising Aang’s tattoos. The meaning and significance of these is not explicitly stated, just highlighted as something outside of Katara’s ordinary.

(12:55) Establishing shot of Katara and Sokka’s village. There’s one decent-sized permanent structure, a low snow wall, and a bunch of tents, many of which aren’t in the best of repair. It’s obviously a barely-subsisting settlement.

(13:02) “Aang, this is the entire village,” Katara says. The entire village is 20 people, according to this shot. Aside from this low, low number of people, the demographics are obviously skewed. No adult men at all. The village is entirely women and children.

(13:08) The village also shies away from Aang when Katara introduces him. Sokka’s wariness of outsiders is the more common reaction.

(13:17) Gran-Gran gives part of it to the audience. Nobody has seen any airbenders for a hundred years. The fact that this coincides with the vanishing of the Avatar a hundred years ago may not be a coincidence. The intro gives this context to the viewers lets them piece things together in part, i.e., the airbenders must have been wiped out very early in the war, and this possibly has something to do with the missing Avatar. Without the intro, Aang doesn’t have that context, and is shocked at hearing that airbenders are apparently extinct.

Being Aang, however, he doesn’t pursue the thought any further. We’ll see Aang avoid things he doesn’t want to deal with again and again throughout the series, but it starts here, when he hears ‘airbenders are extinct’ and doesn’t immediately start asking for more information.

(13:32) Continuing to establish Sokka’s character and the world he lives in - he assumes Aang is carrying a weapon, because of course kids Aang’s age would need and carry weapons. He doesn’t recognise it, so he wants to know what it is. But his inexperience also shows because he just grabs the damn thing. What if it was a weapon? Very safe.

(13:44) The basic mechanics of Aang’s glider are explained by Aang himself telling a bunch of curious little kids how it works. The information asymmetry works both ways. Most of the other characters know nothing about airbending and the Air Nomads.

(14:00) Aang takes flight to the oohs and aahs of the people of the South Pole. We cut back between Aang’s smile, Katara’s smile, and the villagers to show that Aang doesn’t just enjoy flying, he enjoys making others happy.

(14:12) More good Sokka characterisation: he built a watchtower. As well as personal innovation, we see that Sokka isn’t training himself personally, but putting an emphasis on technology and development.

(14:20) Meanwhile, Katara retains her sense of wonder, and she’s not afraid to show it.

(14:32) At this point, Katara does not really identify herself as a waterbender. This goes back to waterbending as a means for Katara to engage with her culture. She can bend water, but she doesn’t have the knowledge of waterbending passed down by her tribes that would help her claim the title of a waterbender.

This also begs the question: why doesn’t Katara have this knowledge, or access to this knowledge?

(14:44) Katara’s lack of training is made clearer here, as she tells her grandmother that she’s finally got a bender to teach her. So we’ve just learned there are literally no other benders at the South Pole, and probably haven’t been for years.

(15:03) Meanwhile, back on the Fire Nation ship, we see something a bit different. Zuko’s squaring off against some opponents while Iroh watches. Earlier we saw Zuko yelling at his uncle. Now we see Iroh taking charge, acting in his capacity as Zuko’s teacher.

(15:14) Power in firebending comes from the breath, Iroh tells us. We’ll see that concept come up again, and reflected in the depictions of firebending throughout the series.

(15:22) Also note the warmer colour palette for this scene, and how the sun has been clearly placed in the frame.

(15:26) Iroh demonstrates his point with a small blast of fire that peters out in front of Zuko’s face. This shows us a couple of things. One, Iroh’s got a lot of control. He’s comfortable aiming that blast at someone. Two, visibly burned Zuko does not flinch when his uncle demonstrates a move with fire in his direction. Given that we learn later that Zuko’s wound was deliberately inflicted by a family member, this reveals a lot in hindsight about how much Zuko trusts his uncle.

(15:33) Zuko demands to learn more advanced techniques; Iroh refuses.

(15:53) Zuko points out that the Avatar has had a century to master the four elements. Again, for the re-watch - Ozai banished Zuko and told him he could come home if this teenage boy could find someone who’d been missing for a hundred years and capture someone who’d (presumably) had the time to master all four bending arts. Heads, Ozai wins; tails, Zuko loses.

(16:01) Another thing that we’ll see throughout the series is Iroh refusing to let Zuko bully him, without actually getting into an open confrontation. Yes, I’ll teach you the advanced moves, Iroh says - after I finish my roast duck!

Off the top of my head, I can only think of one instance of Iroh yelling at Zuko, in a moment of some frustration for Iroh (frustration born out of fear for Zuko, at that). Otherwise, he stays calm in the face of his severely abused nephew’s anger, yet does not reward Zuko’s poor behaviour.

(16:15) Meanwhile, back at the South Pole, Sokka is telling the ‘men’ that it’s important not to show fear when facing a firebender.

(16:22) The joke being that Sokka’s talking to a bunch of kids who must all be around five years old. There are some deadly serious undertones to this joke. Sokka’s speech might be overblown and inappropriate to the audience he’s addressing, but he is legitimately trying to prepare for an attack on his home. He’s a teenager. Why is this his responsibility? Why are there actual kids getting this lecture?

Note also that nobody’s talking about getting the adult women involved in the defence of the tribe. Not even Katara.

(16:59) Within seconds of Sokka’s very serious warrior talk, Aang’s enlisted Appa and grabbed a spear to make a slide for the Water Tribe kids. Just because he thought it would be fun.

(17:09) “What war?” Aang asks.

The fact that Aang Rip Van Winkle’d his way into the show’s setting means that thought he’s not a stranger to the physical mechanics of bending, most of his information about the social and political aspects of the setting is incredibly out of date. Aang has to ask questions about things that other characters take for granted, which is often a pretty graceful way of expositing for the viewer. Plus it’s a source of conflict and tension for Aang in its own right, but I’ll get into that next episode and the episode after.

(17:15) Just like the incident with the extinct airbenders a few minutes ago, Aang ignores the information that there’s a war on to go chase a penguin. (Which have four wings and whiskers, in this universe.) Right here, we’re setting up the reveal for Aang that he napped his way into what is, from his point of view, a post-apocalyptic dystopian future.

(17:52) Katara attempts to strike a deal with Aang to score some waterbending lessons.

(17:58) Aang’s willing, but notes that he’s not a waterbender. (Technically a lie.) This shows us the extent of Katara’s ignorance of the world beyond the South Pole. She doesn’t know how different waterbending and airbending are.

Aang’s return question of “isn’t there somewhere here who can teach you?” shows his ignorance in turn. Like I mentioned before, his information about society and politics is so out of date, and his innocent insensitivity here stings Katara with the reminder of how alone she is and how much her culture has suffered in the war.

(18:11) But in a serious good point of his character, Aang just goes “okay, how about the North Pole, then?” looking for a solution for Katara’s problem.

(18:19) Katara reveals that the Water Tribes are actually cut off from each other, furthering the depiction of the isolation the war causes. As if the distance wasn’t bad enough.

(18:30) Aang is generous enough to offer to give Katara a lift to the other end of the planet. Like Katara just said, it’s not exactly turn right at the second glacier. Aang’s very casual about the distances and logistics involved. Travel isn’t a big deal to him. We’ll come back to this thought. Contrast to Katara’s hesitation.

Meanwhile, from Aang’s perspective, this is also a good way to avoid being the Avatar for a while longer.

(19:23) “I haven’t done this since I was a kid.” / “You still are a kid!” This is an oft-mentioned exchange that gets right to the heart of the differences between the world Aang grew up in and the world Katara grew up in. Aang’s a child and he knows he’s a child. (Again, more on this thought later.) Katara was forced to take on adult responsibilities years ago.

This is one of the most touching things about Aang and Katara’s relationship, though: they have fun together. It’s so simple, but Katara’s life was responsibility after responsibility. Aang’s presence in her life, his insistence on not taking on every single responsibility (at least not right this second), is a healthy way for both of them to make time for themselves and just enjoy life. Including, for Katara, age-appropriate horsing around.

(19:48) Aang and Katara come to a halt in front of something that casts a huge shadow. They stop right at the edge of the darkness the shadow casts, but don’t actually cross the visible line just yet.

(19:50) When we pan out, we see that it’s a Fire Nation ship, run aground on some more unnatural-looking ice. It’s an unmistakeable, unavoidable sign of the war’s presence at the South Pole.

(19:59) Since Aang doesn’t know about the war, he doesn’t have the same wariness Katara does about wandering into an old ship that might be booby-trapped. The dread isn’t ingrained into him like it is for Katara. And with that, they walk into the shadow of the war.

(20:28) We see here that waterbent ice punched right through the metal hull of the Fire Nation ship.

(20:56) Aang looks at the rack of Fire Nation weapons with confusion and dismay, while Katara gives Aang the rundown of how the ship’s been here since her grandmother was young, part of the Fire Nation’s first attacks.

(21:04) This, Aang can’t ignore. There’s a ship with weapons, run aground in not-too-accidental looking circumstances. He starts asking what the hell’s up with all this. In an owww my heart moment, Aang leads off by saying that this can’t be right, he has friends all over the world.

Remember that from Aang’s perspective, this is only a few days at most after the final flashback in ‘The Storm’, an episode that showed the senior monks are starting to get very worried indeed about a war starting.

(21:10) Katara spots the thread and works out that Aang was in the iceberg for a very, very long time.

(21:36) Aang reels at the news that he’s a hundred years out of time and there’s a huge war going on. At this point, I don’t think he’s got a real appreciation of what that means (because that’s something for episode three), but it knocks him on his ass anyway.

(21:44) Likewise, I don’t think Katara’s got a solid understanding of what this means for Aang, but she tries to comfort him anyway. Fittingly for a character whose inner life was illustrated by saying I still have hope, she tries to get Aang to focus on something positive. Aang, who’s also an optimist, says that at least he got to meet Katara.

(21:59) Unfortunately, before they can head back to the village, Aang sets off a booby trap. And why would Aang be looking for booby traps? He grew up in a world where he didn’t have to worry about this sort of thing.

(22:10) The result is to send up a signal flare.

(22:24) And someone is watching. From Zuko’s perspective, he can’t tell how old Aang is, but he can definitely see airbending being used.

(22:45) The pan over to the village, along with Zuko’s line that he’s found the Avatar’s hiding place, emphasises that Zuko poses a threat to the village as well as just to Aang.

(22:50) We get a lot of close-ups of halves of Zuko’s face over the course of the series, and it’s always worth noting which side of his face is being used to convey what, because he’s definitely got a duality thing going on. This time, we cut to the “to be continued” on Zuko’s unscarred eye, i.e., the side of his face where his resemblance to his father is revealed to be unmistakeable.

Given that he’s apparently gearing up to attack an already war-scarred village doing nothing but just trying to get by…fair enough.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

88 notes · View notes

plainvanillapotato · 4 years

Text

the 100 diaries S1 E13

quarantine diaries: may 26 2020

season 1 episode 13: “We Are Grounders: Part II”

I can’t believe im already at the season 1 finale

starting strong with raven and clarke cauterizing her wound. are they really going to paralyze raven? no wait please tell me that she becomes a cyborg.

ooo the tension between finn and bellamy. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! hmmph. fine clarke be the killjoy and break up the fight between youre boyfriends.

i dont like mama clarke and daddy bellamy fighting and disagreeing. it is not productive for your group of kids especially with the grounders coming. i like that clarke balances out bellamy’s negativity tho. way to stay positive. i could never cuz im quite the cynic if y’all if haven’t figured that out yet

was that fire and steam scene (3:50) necessary? im not a big outdoorsy person but im pretty sure that that amount of steam of excessive. i mean it did look cool tho and dramatic af

what is this music? what is with all the slow-mo the editing team really be trying to make walking through the forest super cool and epic when it really isnt

honestly these kids are doing better than the adults. cuz its chaos up there in the ark.

shitttt when that grounder throwing star came and killed that guy.

wow they ran back to camp. soo basically the past ten minutes have been useless. like they really be lets move out and retreat then 5 minutes later be like nvm that was a bad idea lets go back to where its safe and we actually have a chance to fight back. and bet bellamy was like I FUCKING TOLD YOU! CLARKE YOU IGNORANT SLUT! *sorry another office reference

haha finn did a double face palm when clarke agreed with bellamy (7:00)

wow these cuts these editors are just adding new styles.

bellamy’s little makeshift war table is too cute. i wonder if he had individual figurines of himself, clarke, and the other main characters.

also i feel like raven is highly underappreciated. like she is essentially a one-woman show for all things mechanical and weaponry. literally if raven did not come down from the ark when she did. the 100 wouldnt even stand a chance. i honestly think that they’d all be dead already. however then again it was raven’s idea with the flares that ignited this war so......but who am i kidding if it werent the flares the 100 themselves would have found another way to piss of the grounders and start a war sooner or later

ring of fire. i see that raven also watched finding nemo

bbq grounders and raven sayin “ill cook them real good” i thought this was supposed to be feminist show so why they keeping raven in the kitchen? jk jk

finn being a noble dumbass. i stan. but woah! woah woah! finn be out here flirting with clarke and raven at the same time. in the same place. right in front of each other. slow your roll mister.

that awkward moment when the ark didn’t launch. oof. cant relate.

kane touching everyone's hands very anti-corona. but then it was all for nothing. jaha coming to stealing his thunder leaving kane lookin like a fool. jaha giving me captain america vibez rn. also star trek.

friendly reminder that chris hemsworth played chris pine’s father

when jaha said “and ill see my son” rip wells rip. the writers did him dirty :(

grounders be confident enough to announce their arrival with their drums. they should be tho cuz this kids. they aren’t reaaaady

raven having a quarter life crisis about she used to always being first and now ending up where she is now. i felt that. bitch me in college is not a good look. but also when clarke said “id pick you first” we love sisters supporting sisters. imagine if this is sparks a relationship between them. like they both realize how dumb finn is and they decide that they should just get together as a big fuck you to finn.

ooo karma is a bitch murphy.

i love how anya be a wearing a crown on the battle field. shes a queen and she knows it.

this attack between the grounders and the 100 be like the battle at winterfell in GoT (”the long night”) but just scaled down and with guns. i say this because in both that its seems like an impossible fight but also because its hard to see all the action with this poor lighting

nooooow finn listens to bellamy. thats when you know he’s desperate

wow i can’t believe these kids are actually listening to clarke cuz bitch you know if i saw those grounders coming at me you better your ass that i be running to that drop ship for cover. this kids really do have more balls than me.

they’re playing some hallelujah music while they watch the ark descend to earth. waht? then it cuts to some of the people exploding as some of the ark re enters the atmosphere. may we meet again.

how the hell did licoln find her in the mist of all this chaos? oh i know. lincoln be that weird ass person that can track a person based on their scent and you know octavia hasn’t showered in days so you know her stench is potent. aaahh the smell of true love.

aww bellamy apologized about to octavia and his “my life ended when you were born” we love a king that apologizes. really tho. not a lot of male characters apologizes for the messed up things they do/say. i stan.

goodbye octavia may you become a badass next time we meet.

ooo prettyboy bellamy no and finn too. ooh. i know they have to survive for the plot. but i dont like it when found families get separated

this was me watching my bois bellamy and finn getting the living hell beaten out of them by the grounders and not making it back to the dropship

did anya really go in there thinking that she could take on all these kids with guns and no supervision. but i mean if anyone could it would be this queen.

“we are not grounders” i think the title of the episode would disagree with you clarke

props to that stuntman. that fire looks hella hot.

don’t tell me that the air is sweet. put on a damn mask abby don’t you know that its corona season.

welp there goes my ship between kane and jaha. damn it. i mean i guess they could have a really short (timing-wise) but very loooooooong distance relationship. cheers to you thelonius. may we meet again. pour one out for me.

these mountain men have smoke grenades and lasers and guns and gas masks. modern warfare the writers said.

clarke in the good place?

van gogh. starry night. is this just random or is there actual relevance/hidden symbolism behind this. cuz if the latter im picking up on nothing.

monty!!!! He liiiiiivveeeees so...

quarantine ward! Mount Weather?! what the fuck i going on?

#the 100 #the 100 diaries #clarke #bellamy #monty #monty lives #finn #raven #jasper #octavia #lincoln #octavia x lincoln #anya

17 notes · View notes