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mazzystar24 · 2 days

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bestie im starting to feel like we aren’t getting buddie after the mess that was tonight’s episode… this just gives anti-eddie people more material to bash us with and it also means a bunch if buddie fans are about to jump ship bc eddie’s a cheater… i’m losing faith in tim minear this feels very character-death-y

Hi anon!

This episode in my eyes just killed whatever 5% of me that still wasn’t fully sure that Marisol would be written off and now I’m 100% that bitch edy is on her way out so small victories

This episode was neither here nor there on the buddie front but it did have the domestic scene obviously and also the potential for Eddie dealing with why he wants a mother for Chris so bad could be a great way to get buddie even if they’re going about it in a very odd and kinda🙃 way

As for it being character death or Eddie being a cheater it may just be because like I wanna go into psychology so I do tend to look at things from all perspectives and like empathise with more things that make others be like..no- but the way I see it grief makes people do fucked up shit, it doesn’t make it okay but it makes it understandable and worth noting, and he hasn’t slept with her yet (and I doubt he will) so right now it’s sorta a grey area between cheating and emotional cheating, like for me I would defend him so hard if people try to bash him for this (unless they do go a complete shit route but again Tim loves these characters sm I doubt he would ever do that) because he’s dealt with so much trauma and shit over the years that it’s understandable to be flawed and do shitty things occasionally and now he runs into this woman who’s the mirror image of his dead wife? No one can say how they’d react in that situation

Again I’m not saying I like this storyline or that cheating is okay if you’re traumatised but what I’m saying is that it’s pretty far from character death like hen cheated on Karen with her ex because they had history and it was complicated and she was in a weird place and people found a way to forgive her and look past that and buck kissed Lucy due to his underlying issues and we got past that and I think that if any circumstance makes emotional cheating understandable it’s seeing someone who’s the split image of your dead wife

Tim minear I still trust you but I am side eyeing you - like if you were driving a car rn and I was in the passenger seat, I wouldn’t hop out and call an Uber but my hand would be inching toward the Jesus handle because you’re scaring me sometimes

Thanks anon🫶

#911 #buddie #evan buckley #911 abc #eddie diaz #911 fox #evan buck buckley #911onfox #buckley diaz family #asks open #send asks #911 spoilers #send me asks #answered asks #asks

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wickjump · 2 days

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soz about ranting in ur ask box a little but i want ur opinion on underverse and i want to share my opinion of underverse to the world

im gonna start with,, does anyone else find underverse to be more and more boring?? i mean, shouldn’t really be saying that because the only reason i got into underverse was because classic was the mc and i really only liked classic back in 2018,,, but.

like, idk. i really feel like its lost that spark, and i feel like it fell off after it strayed away from classic actually BEING the mc. the last two episodes were really only introducing more characters and then oh no they fight with little content being about the ACTUAL main plot

i feel like it goes to show that some utmv fans only care about exciting and interesting content instead of good storytelling + plot that actually comes with it. all i got from the latest episode was,, well. “fatal error shows up oh no then ink + cross fight them and cross dies but revives” AND THAT WAS ALL PEOPLE TALKED ABOUTTTUHH. nothing about ink encountering classic again at the end, just the fight sequence. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ same with 0.4 i feel like its only there for the fight sequences. like,, wheres classic my stinkabutt!!!!!!!

sigh i sort of feel like im just being sort of petty about this??? but genuinely i think its fallen off and im really only waiting for the next episode just for classic.

// also unrelated but ur so right for handplates being one of ur fav aus its so good

TY I NEED MORE HANDPLATES APPRECIATION ZARLA DID SO GOOD WITH EXPLORIJG HOW TRAUMA CAN AFFECT PEOPLE UGH

anyway warning for me talking about a lot of stuff concerning writing because i’m a neerddddd. pls read all of it tho 🥺 i prommy i’m not preachy i just speak a lot

anyhow, honestly that opinion is so valid. i believe though that the next episode of underverse is getting back into the plot, and i trust jakei to finish it in a tasteful way. it’s a lot of buildup right now, and as a story writer i’m aware that ‘filler’ can be beneficial and either used to make plot points seem less rushed or back-to-back, introduce concepts and characters that will be important later, all of that.

while it has its flaws, jakei is the sole animator and it can be hard to animate all of that on your own and come up with good storylines as the sole writer as well. even with help doing this is difficult and i respect her for it—especially considering how much other stuff she’s doing on top of that. i have some of my own gripes with it of course, but it’s really well in terms of animation quality and one of the things that keeps the fandom going, which i can also respect. the utmv fandom has always had terrible literacy so i don’t blame jakei for that part.

shows, and stories in general, have genres, and underverse’s genre can fit under action given the fact it, at its earliest, had a fight scene. it’s nothing new for it, just maybe longer as the episodes have gotten longer. this is valid to dislike though, or to find too much of, it’s why it was difficult for me to get through epictale’s comic; it was so action-heavy it felt like i had no time to breathe, and i can understand underverse giving you the same feeling. i believe the episodes featuring more fighting than not serve as build-up, the same way plenty of other series do, getting you prepared for a big scene featuring characters or concepts shown in previous fight scenes or winding you up. or it could serve as a pretense for an episode featuring minimal fighting scenes, sort of as a ‘here’s the action quota, time for less of that’.

underverse losing its spark is something i can definitely understand as well, though it has taken place over 8 years and the story and jakei herself have changed a lot over that time. the original intent of the series has definitely been strayed from, and cross as the focus rather than classic as he was in earlier episodes was something i wasn’t exactly hyped about (i love classic sm too,,,,, why is he never the focus of anything,,,).

my theory for why it’s lost it’s spark to you (and many others, myself included, though i’m still a huge fan of the series) is that our primary antagonist hasn’t been seen in a while, instead having mini antagonists filling his place while he works in the background. which would work in a longer series, but underverse isn’t that. it’s a series of mini movies with ten total episodes ever being released, in such a short time build up is hard to make and there are times where it feels it’s taking too long and that we’re running out of time.

originally in underverse, ink was our antagonist before it switched to xgaster. but ink doesn’t act as an antagonist anymore (and doesn’t exactly have consequences for his actions), and xgaster isn’t seen nearly as often. neither is xchara, who’s my favorite character and was a huge appeal early on, working dynamically with cross and providing more interesting plot points. our placeholder antagonists are nightmare (who i’m convinced will have a much higher role later on), killer, and fatal error, and the latter doesn’t have any connection to the story yet, so it can feel like he was thrown in there for the sake of action.

this i admit isn’t my favorite thing, but i hope it changes later on. i believe it’s around the time where things are ‘all coming together’ in the series, where stray plot points will reveal why they’re tied into everything else, though only time can tell for that. also swap and fell dying was frustrating because i loved them and i feel they could’ve been much more useful characters in the series if they weren’t killed off.

the atmosphere of the au also changed, expanding from ‘au to au’ to the multiverse as a whole, which can also serve as a reason for why you feel it’s changed a lot. the art style change couldve also influenced this, lineart from thick to thin is something that actually alters how people view a piece of media a lot more than people think!! it’s such a far cry from what it started out as, and while i’m super proud of jakei for being able to do all of this, i’m personally not too fond of change. characters relationships have altered, dream and ink (previously shown has friends) have scarcely interacted since, ink hasn’t reaped (rept???) what he sowed, and plenty of plot points were made and presumably just won’t show up again.

but ultimately, writing a story is a complicated process and jakei is only one person, so it’s flaws aren’t something i blame her for. it’s a lot of work and i admire her for being able to do all of this, it’s something i could never dream of doing. it’s easy to criticize a story but so hard to make one. plus, it’s been like, what, 8 years now since it all started? so i doubt jakei has had the same plan for underverse in mind all that time, for beginning to end.

tldr i agree but there’s a lot of nuance with storytelling and jakei is the sole writer AND animator of the whole series so she can’t be expected to be perfect with it all

#TELL ME IF I WAS WRONG BTW #AT ANY POINT DURING THIS #IM NOT SMART #AND ITS ALSO 1AM #underverse #analysis #underverse analysis #utmv analysis #utmv #undertale #sans #cross sans #xchara #xgaster #ink sans

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incorrectly-quoted-queers · 3 days

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Stolas, Blitz, and the Full Moon

The painful dramatic irony I feel about Stolas and Blitz having their meetings on the Full Moon haunts me every time I think about Helluva Boss (which seems to be often, lately).

So get on your literary tinfoil hats, because we're doing a literary tinfoil hat kind of ramble.

So let's talk about why—the full moon in particular—is such a *choice* for their monthly tryst.

For some quick science. The full moon is when the moon is completely illuminated by the sun. In turn, the moon also reflects that light to earth and back at the moon. They are in full alignment and shine their brightest.

So, metaphorically, this does well represent how when Stolas and Blitz started their contractual agreement, they were in full alignment: they each got what they wanted from the deal and it worked for them. Also, Blitz is ostensibly of lower class than Stolas, so putting Stolas in the place of the sun and Blitz as the moon is a pretty apt way to symbolize the distance in status and power between them (more on that later).

Over time, though, it has become more and more of a strain on both of them because, unlike the moon, they are no longer in alignment. Stolas doesn't want contractual, he wants love. Blitz is growing increasingly uncomfortable with what he feels beyond the contract and every time Stolas pushes those boundaries, he lashes out. So, when the full moon once was this very effective metaphor for their dynamic, things are shifting and turning their meeting from an apt moon metaphor to the dramatic irony it is now. Because while Stolas and Blitz don't notice how fraught the situation is, we, the audience, know that these two, regardless of whatever feelings and potential they may have, are not in alignment anymore. They are not a full moon. And it's no surprise that the upcoming episode, "Full Moon" seems to be all about that misalignment finally catching up to Stolas and Blitz.

So, if you think I'm painting curtains blue, it's time we gotta talk about "Look My Way".

The best evidence that all these moon shenanigans have been at least subconsciously purposeful and very clear to the fans and creators is this music video.

Let's start with the owl man context. Stolas is already a lifelong scholar of the stars, placing him in the perfect position for the cosmos to be a way he relates himself to others (also see any and all of his exchanges with Octavia).

In "Look My Way", Stolas enters this imagined cosmic space. At first, he's among the stars as a godly, large being, representing his status as a prince and a "watcher of these ancient rites". He's far from others, especially people like Blitz. However, as the song goes deeper into his feelings for Blitz, not only does he begin to cradle one small, moon-like celestial body, but in the next scene he's suddenly below that body as it floats above. He's gone from godly omniscience to a man on earth, looking up at the stars.

This is Stolas realizing Blitz isn't just some little rock that reflects his light and makes him feel good (circling back to that moon science). Instead, he's realized that like the puny humans of earth, the moon makes him feel small and illuminated. And these size changes all are symbols of the power dynamic (at least in Stolas' eyes; we can talk til the cows come home that objectively Stolas' status always has him in control. But let's roll with the bird man on this and focus on emotional control). Here, Stolas realizes his depth of feeling for Blitz and how desperately he wishes to be more.

Then, Stolas imagines a world where they are on the same plane. The moon isn't so small or so large, and he can reach out and touch its contents—Blitz.

Now, the video ending with him trying to fly up to the moon and falling is clear: He's resolved to try to put them on that equal footing and is willing to risk failing, falling, and losing it all if it means he might have that more equitable relationship as Blitz. If they might have find their full moon again, but a different kind.

But, can they find a full moon without one of them reflecting on the other?

This is the kicker that stirs up so much fan shenanigans. Because yeah, the full moon being a representative of their relationship is *painfully* apt. Let's go back to the science for a second. If you look at a full moon, you're looking at a version of the moon lit up by the sun's light. What you're seeing is not the moon all on its own. And on the flip side, the sun disappears behind the moon, fully eclipsed by night and the moon, losing itself in this configuration. And you can see the problems with this kind of alignment as a metaphor for a relationship.

Because if they were on the same footing, they wouldn't be a full moon anymore. To be the kind of relationship Stolas wants and Blitz is afraid to want, their alignment has to change entirely. Not one body reflecting on the other, not one disappearing behind the other, not a star and a moon. But, instead, side by side. *They have to become different celestial bodies entirely.* And understandably that's a huge fucking leap. It's why this fandom gets in very heated debates about whether their relationship could work or not, because there do have to be so many large, inherent changes in themselves as people and the way they interact to become the kind of relationship they both want.

But I guess we will just have to wait and see if they can pull it off or not.

Anyway, given I spent 30 minutes writing this, I'm going to stop listening to Helluva Boss music or I'm just gonna keep doing this all day.

#helluva boss #stolas goetia #blitzø #stolas x blitz #vivziepop #hell #imp x prince #prince of hell #full moon #symbolism #look my way #helluva boss season 2 #helluva boss fandom

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fandomfreakstudios · 2 days

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Caine is a human and I will die on this hill (theory)

due to popular demand (losing the poll) I wanna post my Caine theory in proper depth.

Fair warning: I know too much about AI and Game Development so if any of my jargon is too inaccessible for anyone I'm perfectly willing to elaborate in the comments! :D

My theory is essentially the idea that Caine is not an AI but is in fact a human trapped in the digital circus just as much as all the other players.

Sounds ridiculous, right?

good.

[LONG post incoming, be warned]

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To start, we need to understand the digital circus and its origins.

a place like the digital circus is very likely to be man-made as a place, a game, a computer program, whatever. This place did not appear out of nowhere. It is accessed through VR or some VR-esque technology, and takes on the appearance of a retro game (evidence given below)

Now, video games (unfortunately) don’t just code themselves, there has to be at the very least one person creating this game. Fortunately enough, we can deduce the name of the company from what is given within the show.

It is very common knowledge at this point that digital circus takes place within a computer in some sort of office building (as is implied by the ending scene in episode 1)

This computer is also seen at another point... namely when Pomni is running through the backrooms-like offices. She once again comes across this computer.

Now this implies that this area is at least SOMEWHAT a reflection of the real world, so analyzing this location isn't inherently pointless. Now one other interesting part of this office area is the logo on the wall, which reads "C & A" which people have unanimously agreed to mean Caine and Abel

The important thing about this is that Caine as a concept is somehow connected to the person who created this game, through the founder choosing to name Caine after the company, or vice versa. Now you could easily argue that the company was named after Caine, or Caine acts as a self insert for the creator, but I am here to argue that maybe Caine IS the creator.

More specifically, Caine is an original creator of the game (not necessarily the sole creator) aka the amazing digital circus, and in testing an incomplete game managed to get himself trapped, as does any other player who chooses to attempt to play.

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Looking back at episode 1 there is something interesting for us to think about. Caine attempting to create an exit door, but being unable to figure out what to put on the other side.

Now this could very easily be interpreted as Caine being unable, as an AI who's only knowledge is of what's within the game, to imagine anything outside of it, and therefore fumbling the task. This is a reasonable interpretation, this was MY first interpretation, and it honestly adds so much horror to the episode on a first watch through.

But in all honesty that still leaves a lot unexplained.

The question still remains why Caine, as a struggling AI, would choose to create something like what he did. From his perspective he has never seen anything as dreary as these office buildings, nor does this space make any semblance of sense as Caine's environments tend to do. It seems less like something a well-polished AI would create, and more like what a human would come up with when trying to create something from a distant memory.

That's something incredibly important to keep in mind going forward. If Caine is in fact human, he would have been trapped in the digital circus for a LONG time, with it becoming increasingly difficult to recall his human memories (something it is confirmed humans trapped in the circus can recall). at the very least, longer then Kinger, who is clearly very mentally effected by his time at the circus.

Caine would likely also be showing some level of insanity or mental instability if he had been trapped with no escape for this long (and yes I do believe that he also cannot leave, and I have some evidence later down the line that will explain this perspective), and he hasn't been seen to do this at all, right? Well, I think he is, but it manifests a little differently then Kinger, or anyone else for that matter. Keep this in mind as we go forward.

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Caine's purpose within the circus is fairly straightforward. He is the ringmaster, he creates daily adventures akin to ttrpg oneshots, and he exists to essentially guide the player through this video game world.

Now in the event that Caine was a human who was pulled into the game, why would he need to fill this role? Even as a dev he should still be playtesting as, well, a player. I believe that at the time of the dev's entrapment, the ringmaster AI had not been programmed into the game.

Y'see the Caine we know is a MAJOR perfectionist. He neeeever likes anyone seeing his unfinished work, kinda odd for an AI within a game to be embarrassed about. Yeah, he's a generative AI that creates locations, but creating something in multiple steps is something an AI cannot do. Furthermore, an AI should not feel "embarrassed" about it's work, AI by virtue is always 100% convinced what it generates is perfect, or else it wouldn't have generated it like that.

Also, if we're working under the assumption that the backrooms-esque offices were just an AI hallucination or bad generation, why would Caine KNOW it's not what his players are looking for? For a dev however, this makes sense.

Caine also has a lot of other actions that, as an AI require a bit if suspension of disbelief, but make tons more sense if he's actually a human, and furthermore a dev.

As mentioned, perfectionism, not wanting people to see incomplete or unpolished areas of the game

Realistic depictions of emotions (frustration, embarrassment, confusion)

Annoyance at Bubble for being a sucky AI (her swearing, interrupting him, inhuman and unrealistic speaking patterns and behaviors)

the need to "Reuse AI" which, if the characters are all AI created by other AI would be unnecessary because AI generating would take Caine no effort. Nor should a generative AI ever run out of ideas.

As mentioned, perfectionism, not wanting people to see incomplete or unpolished areas of the game

Realistic depictions of emotions (frustration, embarrassment, confusion)

Annoyance at Bubble for being a sucky AI (her swearing, interrupting him, inhuman and unrealistic speaking patterns and behaviors)

the need to "Reuse AI" which, if the characters are all AI created by other AI would be unnecessary because AI generating would take Caine no effort. Nor should a generative AI ever run out of ideas.

I wanna highlight that, while this is a joke post, I am enjoying the implication that Caine has a name (something only a human would have)

(top right is a particularly interesting example of him just acting super human and "dropping the act" so to speak. Getting distracted, stuttering, losing track of the conversation, all that. And bottom right is similar as he is nervously fidgeting).

Caine has all the fixings of a human dev, trapped in his now incomplete game. A game that had not had it's "ringmaster" character implemented at this point in development, likely with nothing more then some competed (albeit unpolished) locations for the game.

The idea Caine is actually a dev as opposed to an AI is further supported by Caine's ability to create and alter things from within the game. Creating areas without human prompt, deleting characters, he seems to have a level of autonomy and intelligence that no AI should EVER have.

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Furthermore, the man ACTS human, a weird ass human, but a human nonetheless. He's responsive, emotive, emotional, and he's not nearly as glitchy as the other AI. He never slips up and activates some sort of internal filter like bubble, or insists on weird mannerisms like the moon or the sun, he seems to just KNOW better somehow.

He acts like the more "immersive AI" from ep2 if anything, which he's clearly been around longer than. Someone needed to program that AI, and based on previous patterns is implied to be Caine. Once again, way out of his job description as another AI (plus how would this AI be MORE realistic if it was learning from another, older AI).

Not to mention the fact he's ALWAYS around somewhere, whether he's in his own realm he made, or just chilling around the circus (unlike bubble for example, who comes and goes at Caine's will).

It's clear he does this for his own comfort, but WHY would he be programmed to do that as opposed to only existing when necessary to prioritize memory or something.

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But one would be right to say he's slightly... off. He is a strange one, if he was a human. He's erratic, unpredictable, and often manic at times. This goes back to the point I made with Kinger, where I claimed Caine should also be exhibiting signs of mental illness

Under the assumption that Caine, in the act of playtesting the game, got trapped, a handful of things would happen (the finer details are negotiable, this is just my knee-jerk reaction):

He'd realize what happened and that he can't get out

He likely felt as though he was in his own personal hell, as he was trapped in a scuffed, incomplete skeleton of his own passion project

He likely found some sort of way to alter stuff, a backdoor that only he as the creator knew about, or some sort of privilege in being the first to enter the realm

He got his first or first few players. This was probably alarming to him as there was no ringmaster, no worlds, nothing. All the AI he had created thus far had been poorly made and could not function which such a difficult task. But then he realized... HE could be the ringmaster

This is probably around the time as well that he realized he could not remember his own name. But he remembered what he wanted to call the ringmaster... Caine

He takes on the identity of Caine, acting as ringmaster, polishing the game behind the scenes, and creating daily activities on an "as needed" basis

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Now this is where it gets interesting. I believe, at this point, Caine has taken on the identity of this AI generated ringmaster for so long that he's beginning to lose himself. He's beginning to lose memories of his life, he's becoming more detached from the side of himself that ISN'T Caine, and he's starting to catch himself believing he IS Caine, he IS an AI.... and he's scared

He's completely lost the ability to create any meaningful connections with others, as he needs to keep up the illusion of being an AI. He's lost his humanity, become detached from the way other humans think and feel, and its starting to make him become more AI then human if anything.

(left image does not crop nice, plz click to view the whole thing TvT)

He's probably seen at least a dozen people lose their mind in so many different ways. While he knows he's different then them, TECHNICALLY he's still a player, and can abstract all the same. This is why he seemed to freak the HELL out at the idea of an AI and a human getting mixed up.

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One last bit, and it's a simple one I promise. Caine has been described as the main antagonist outside of the show. This is interesting as up until now Caine hasn't done anything actively malicious (aside from Gummigoo, but he seemed to have solid reasoning for that, just not anything he chose to share with the audience).

[does ANYONE have the "weight of Caine's sins?" tumblr ask I am having no luck finding it again]

At this point, this would be shooting the messenger. He is simply a byproduct of the system that is keeping these folks trapped, right? Caine himself didn't put them there, he just takes care of them.

Unless... Caine was the one who made the AI. Then he would inarguably be the reason everyone else was trapped there. And goose is right, that wouldn't make him an AWFUL person either, but he does still have many sins weighing on his back, and many deaths on his hands. And there's nothing he can do about any of it, because he's just as helpless as they are.

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So yeah, TLDR: Caine was the creator of the circus. In attempting to playtest he got trapped in the game and eventually took the initiative to play the ringmaster within his own game, but he is slowly beginning to lose his mind, as happens to everyone.

Hope you all enjoyed the read! If anyone's still interested at this point I have a few more small bits of evidence (more from outside the show on Goose's socials and whatnot) which I could not fit in the bulk of the theory. I'll reblog with some extra bits so this post is still complete but I don't break the flow of my main ideas.

And if you get this far, thank you so much. I don't typically post long form theories like this but if this gets any sort of traction I definitely will begin too.

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc caine #tadc theory #the amazing digital circus caine #the amazing digital circus theory #long post #long reads #theory #guys im so fucking sorry this is so long I had a IDEA #blorbo #new blorbo alert

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laylawatermelon · 2 days

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I have thoughts about this ep...

(It's not good... But not bad)

911's writing of this storyline seems to be teetering in the wrong direction and it may cause a disconnect with some viewers.

Hi! I literally took a nap and woke up with an essay 🙃.

But let's get to the good stuff.

This season has been phenomenal. The acting and writing has all been consistent with the original past 4 seasons. (Season 5 and 6 were good just had a different tone)

This has been due to the show runner returning.

Now that we've gotten all the facts out of the way here's my opinion.

I'll be honest, the twin/lookalike story that came up is causing me to pull away and not in a good way.

If I objectively look at it as a fan this cones out of left field and may intrigue a set of fans. Those fans are likely in the higher age range. (Nothing wrong with it but just an observation)

(i keep up with updates online so it didn't bother me that much)

But for me as I was watching it and the scene came up and then The Grey's Anatomy came up I don't know why but a flash pinged in my brain of this feels like a Telenovela/Soap Opera.

And it is in fact a storyline commonly used or mentioned of the long lost twin or the doppelganger who's back to destroy, seduce, etc. to shake up the main characters life.

I will say that what 9-1-1 has been doing is a good job between toeing the line between supernatural and realistic.

This is leaning a bit to close to the former and can lose some people.

(i will say that this storyline isn't hitting like it usually does the others, even if I wasn't an buddie fan. Hell as an Eddie fan I'm still confused)

The tone of the show this season has been lighter so of course the storylines do reflect that.

My only gripe is what makes 9-1-1 compelling in the first place is the odd fact that the characters don't die and they're realistic (enough) in their cases and drama.

They're gripping enough that they can use these cliches to grip the audience backed by stellar performances and direction.

I just don't like the soap opera-y feeling I got from the trope. (Personal preference what can I say)

Now the next episode will probably expand on this storyline and will cause the conclusion to be touching and heartfelt.

I'm just a bit sour about the lead up to it because it's like oh this woman who looks exactly like my deceased/missing partner appears in the same vicinity as me (despite living in a very big very populated state) so I must get to know her better. I end up throwing away my morals and then something bizarre happens and then something else happens and I find out she's insert - (illusion/twin/stalker/literally anything out of pocket you can think of).

The audience swoons because of course she is (bad/evil/plotting etc).

It's not gripping me.

Emotionally however I'm intrigued how this will eventually effect Christopher as it he sees her he's screwed for life.

In addition to his dad talking to her in the first place, therefore unintentionally enforcing his women all leave/slight lack of respect for their feelings as they're replaceable (she would literally replace his mom in name and face) or disposable (Marisol as the woman left behind).

Yes Eddie's happy but he's also being more reckless than he usually is.

He's always been aiming to find what they had but his actions have implications.

(imma put on my buddie hat for a second this is all/j)

Like how he leaves his son with his dad and goes on a date with another person constantly. 😤 Rude

(no lie they are good coparents though even if they are platonic. They work better than some romantic straight families on tv)

Back to analysis mode though, this action has dangerous implications on both how relationship with Christopher and how he can harm him and eventually how their relationship can decline because of this.

It's not just the disloyalty to both his current partner and son but the example he'll be setting.

Chris probably may end up listening to Buck more as a result because he wouldn't/hasn't hurt him in the way his father currently does with this situation. For relationship advice and such.

Yes it's good drama (in an emotional/analytical sense) I'm just sulky about the telenovela feel of it don't mind me.

I'm positive their performances will make it lean more towards the procedural drama movie feel the show is known for.

Hell this had to happen some day right? The soap operafication of 9-1-1.

Hope is a beautiful ride at least. 🤷🏾‍♀️

(ps this episode was great all things aside)

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adhd-merlin · 11 months

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unpopular opinion: arthur (as much as i like him as a character) was useless in terms of prophecy and liberation of the magic people. not just bc he never ended up lifting the magic ban but bc literally anyone sitting on the throne could have done that. i see no reason why it had to be arthur specifically. but the show liked to pretend like he was the only way to achieve a positive future bc the opprressed community cant simply help themselves that would be silly ig? no no they need to patiently wait that maybe one day their oppressor (whos literally continuing his fathers genocide even if less zealously) has a change of heart and they wont be hunted down like animals anymore. never mind the countless people that will have to die in the mean time. merlin can kill a bajillion people on screen and thats fine and for the greater good but if someone tries to kill One guy sitting on a fancy chair with a fancy hat suddenly thats too extreme. half the time it felt like the show was pointing to merlin as a poster child of how to act when oppressed. the fact that morgana growing bitter about uthers reign is framed as inherently bad and what directly lead to her becoming evil tm is particularly infuriating to me. the choice to create this very ya dystopian setting and then cast the oppressors as part of the main cast and the final solution is just very weird to me. i think it wouldve been objectively for the best if the magic community had overthrown arthur (or uther really but thats not really contested.. unless youre the bbc. this show is so british (derogatory))

in that vein: mordred has never done anything wrong in his entire life and that includes killing arthur

one more for the "arthur was a loser" folder

[ok but about the rest!! I have many thoughts about it. merlin as a member of an Oppressed Minority. his betrayal of his own kin. I'm putting it all under a cut bc you guys don't need to see me rambling about this and the disir again]

you make a good point — the way in which a story is framed, even the moment we choose as a "beginning", determines what characters we'll feel sympathy for, even when the facts at our disposal are the same.

I don't think the writers were trying to create any kind of deep social commentary btw. just so we're clear. merlin is the hero of the story and his mission is to keep arthur safe. we've got to root for them both.

to have a king with a hatred (fear) of magic gives us a convenient antagonist within the court. merlin having to defend the men that would have him killed for his magic is a great source of dramatic tension. it sort of follows that the people he has to fight against to defend the king/prince are other magic users, or magical threats. (it also keeps things interesting because there would be no challenge for merlin otherwise).

there isn't much of a point in exploring the motives and backstories of other characters with magic (with the exception of morgana, perhaps). They are only briefly touched upon — so these characters remain vaguely antagonistic for the most part. Neutrally aligned at best (see mordred).

We are shown that the druids are (mostly) aware of the prophecy that marks merlin/emrys as the saviour of their kind.

what I find fascinating are merlin's interactions with magic people who are either not aware of this prophecy (gilli) or have no faith in it (kara, possibly?) Because we're never given the chance or the time to see things from their perspective. To see merlin through their eyes.

When gilli says:

"It is time that someone struck a blow for the likes of you and me. And if you're too weak, then I will." (!!!)

It makes him sound like some kind of extremist, but really, when you think about it. isn't his anger kind of justified? I'm not condoning his violence, I'm just saying — it's understandable. uther has killed so many innocent people. literally drowned innocent children. and merlin's like "violence isn't the answer!" — and I can see his point!! but I can see gilli's just as well. and I find it so interesting that he's still addressing merlin as a brother ("the likes of you and me"), even when expressing disappointment in his actions and calling him weak. because they are the same. he's saying "you're deluded, and cozying up to the enemy won't save you"

this episode also contains what is (probably) my favourite dragon call. when merlin summons kilgharrah in other episodes, he's usually in the middle of some Urgent Situation. matters of life or death. there is nothing urgent here, really. yeah, it is arguably a matter of life or death, but nothing merlin couldn’t have stopped on his own. he really just called on kilgharrah to have a heart to heart with a friend — a member of his class.

("You are a creature of magic, and only a creature of magic could hope to understand.")

this episode is about merlin looking for kinship and still feeling isolated from his magic brethren. there's something tragic about the way the prophecy makes him unable to connect to some of the people who would be best placed to understand him.

and gilli plants a small seed of doubt in merlin's mind. "You've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are" (!!)

but kilgharrah reassures merlin that there's a golden age coming. so merlin does what he has to do — he saves uther once again. before gilli leaves, merlin reassures him that one day they will be free.

he tells mordred the same:

"It won't always be like this. One day we will live in freedom again."

and then, when he has the unique opportunity to use his influence on arthur to sway his opinion in the right direction. he fails.

he condemns himself, and the people he spoke to of freedom, to keep living in fear and in hiding — and what's even more upsetting, he does so while talking of a "just and fair kingdom"!

("You must protect the world you spent your life building, a just and fair kingdom for all." What an interesting choice of words. camelot isn't just and fair to all — as merlin knows well. he's lying to arthur, and possibly to himself.)

imagine being gilli or mordred and hearing him say that "there can be no place for magic in camelot." (!) What a slap in the face.

I've read meta suggesting that the disir were testing merlin just as much as arthur (or even more so than him). I'm inclined to believe it — I want to believe it. If anything because it makes the story all the more interesting and tragic. (I know what some are going to say — if mordred's destiny was to kill arthur, it would've happened anyway. but remember what else kilgharrah said — the future is never clear. there are many paths).

I understand why merlin did what he did, I really do. but for a moment, the fair and just kingdom he spoke of was within reach, and he failed to grasp it.

so was gilli wrong after all?

[and kara. I feel quite sympathetic towards her. we know arthur. she can't see him from our (merlin's) perspective. for her, he might as well be uther. magic people are still persecuted under camelot's law. she has spent her life on the run, she has seen people she loved be killed. and from our (arthur's) perspective, she looks like some kind of fanatic. but in reality. put yourself in her shoes. when arthur offers her a chance to save herself by "repenting" for her crime, she says she has nothing to repent for. "it is not a crime to fight for your freedom". that's the belief she's willing to die for. did she deserve to die for it?

(I also think there's an interesting parallel in merlin failing his kin in the disir, and arthur failing mordred in ep 5x11 by condemning kara to death. something about pinning all your hopes on someone who's going to fail you, and doom you both. idk idk.)]

sorry anon. you were saying

#merlin meta #more like brain vomit really #there is nothing particularly insightful in here #do you have an episode or a scene that makes you lose it #for me its that scene in the disir probably #I just [insert stick figure violence meme] when I think about it #many thoughts about merlin and the druids and those who knew him as 'emrys'#you have people like alator and finna - with an almost fanatic level of faith #but surely there must have been skeptics #druids who were like “what is he even doing. he's been in camelot for years”#“are we sure he's the right one”#it's just... from an outsider & skeptic perspective. merlin is a race traitor #defending uther and arthur like that #merlin iscariot #betrayal is such an interesting concept #but yeah I love it when he talks of freedom to his fellow oppressed sorcerers #bc it's easy to forget how much he suffers because of camelot's stance on magic #even merlin is so busy looking after arthur that he doesn't seem to have much time to dwell on his own oppression. if that makes sense #and meeting other sorcerers. it brings it back to the forefront #these are the people he's fighting for. brothers and sisters.#asks

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