went down a rabbithole of discourse to see what people mean when they say they don't like the wedding and well
let me ask you this:
do you not the like this plotline because it's "poor writing" (even though it was literally planned from the start, ie rafael knowing) or you do not like it because it shows that carlos isn't a saint with minimal, "cute" flaws, here to help tk get better?
do you not like iris or are you villainising her because she's "getting in the way of your ship" and doesn’t act in a neurotypical way, or in what you're "used to" seeing from neurodivergent characters?
really think about these cause i think you might figure some things out.
now i haven't made it a secret that i'm liking this plotline, but i'm not just gonna call out one side without explaining mine, that would just be unfair, so here are my full thoughts now that ep2 is out
i love this plotline because it's an opportunity to delve into carlos' character development, which when compared to tk, we haven't had much. like sure, they've been a couple and stuff but apart from the jealousy with connor and the issue with his parents, what have we really learned about carlos? compared to all the development we've had from tk, carlos at times felt very much like a tool for tk to move forward, because the character himself still had such limited growth opportunities
now the marriage plotline is his time to shine. i recently reblogged a post where it was mentioned that tk came full circle in the first 3 seasons, starting with a failed proposal and ending with a successful one, so i think that tk at this point is okay to take a secondary, and just overall less dramatic approach to his character development. because we've seen him go through the big things. now it's carlos' turn to do like a pokemon and evolve.
we get to see the full scope of his anxiety, internalised homophobia, and saviour complex.
it's already a huge step that he talked to tk about it before he took care of the divorce. people with anxiety disorders (it's me hi i'm people) can tell you that bringing up a problem without having a solution is next to inconceivable. we feel like we always need to have solutions for our problems and if we don't, then people can't know about them. so the fact that carlos trusted tk enough to tell him (albeit after being "forced" to by andrea) tells you a lot about just how much he cares. and we also got the opportunity of seeing tk's growth because he didn't take it personally, didn't think this was against him, he understood that this was carlos' own problems and just like carlos helped him deal with his issues, tk's gonna help him deal with this.
it also shows just how far carlos' internalised homophobia went, and shows that even though most of it wasn't on screen, he's done amazing progress. the conversation on the couch is a testament to that growth, to him realising he wasn't broken at all. it's also a great way to show internalised homophobia, because it's something that most queer people go through, especially at the beginning, and i think it's beautiful to show that no matter how much time passes or how many mistakes you make, the important part of it is that you found yourself, the rest can be taken care of later.
and of course, his saviour complex. we saw it when he let the bank robber go, we saw it when he broke down because he felt like he failed tk by not having enough fire extinguishers to protect him, and we see it now by him staying married to iris for the health insurance. abd not going to see her because in some way, he feels like he failed her. maybe he should have noticed her illness sooner, or he should have been there with michelle from the start, but he didn't know what to do or what to say so he just didn't go. which again, if you have an anxiety disorder, you can relate. sometimes when things feel too hard or we don't have a set plan for everything that's gonna happen, or we make it harder than it is in our minds, we just don't go. speaking from experience, i ghosted my therapist for a year cause i forgot to call in sick for one appointment and thought she would judge me so i didn't go back. that's just how much anxiety can affect you, and for carlos, this is his "monster", this marriage is the thing that he desperately wants to fix but doesn't know how, finds too complicated, so he's stuck where he is because he's just not able to fix it.
and it's amazing to see how much tk gives him strength, the trust they share, and how carlos found his motivation in tk. that's love and from one anxious person to another, i'm really proud of carlos
now as for iris, i love her, i really do. she shows a mental illness that we don't always see, and normalises the fact that even after being medicated, neurodivergent people aren’t just suddenly gonna be "fixed". she's saner with her medication but we see how she finds it hard to communicate because her brain just works differently. when can see during her talk of an annulment, she thought she was being obvious the whole time, and it was only after tk asked for an explanation that she realised she needed to express this better. she doesn't mean her questions maliciously (ie carlos warning tk beforehand and being ready to step in if it got too much while also trusting that his fiancé can hold his own), she just has questions and asks them. she asks them because she's curious, because she's worried about carlos, because she wants to know more about tk. she doesn't have that little voice in her head telling her that her questions can be taken the wrong way.
and the part everyone's mad about, with her calling tk carlos' life's work. she didn't say it to insult tk, she didn't say it because she thinks he doesn't deserve carlos, she said it because in her mind it proves how perfect they are for each other. "always needs a project" + "can be his life's work" = soulmates. and idk if i understood that because i'm neurodivergent or because whatever else, but it made sense in my brain, i get her.
and ofc, it's a great opening to show off tarlos' ability to communicate with each other and both their individual and joint growth.
now for the fact that they can't get an annulment, i'm honestly not sure that was the plan at all, it might have been brought in just for the symbolism and after realising they can't do it, they'll have to stick with divorce. i don't know, i'm hapoy to let the writers surprise me and then pick apart and analyse the story as it comes.
and for the fact that iris is now missing, again, don't have many thoughts about it right now other than i think she went looking for the woman at the care center that she talked about when tk first got there, bc that comment felt too pointed not to become a plot point. but again, i'll hold any thoughts until after the episode air.
i see so many people getting stuck on what could happen, and what was "seen coming" etc, but honestly, just trust the writers. we know it will end in a wedding, ronen and rafael trust the writers fully, and that's good enough for me you know. i'm not gonna stress about what "could happen" in a tv show, i do that enough irl. i'm just gonna enjoy the ride.
so yeah that was me
25 notes
·
View notes
Friendships & Found Family w/126
I may be alone in this thoughts, but I always found the reactions of the 126 weird when Tim died. I can understand losing a teammate, but what I always found weird, even now, was just how devastated everyone was.
We saw the 126 completely devastated that Tim was killed on duty, but the way they were acting was a little strange to me. We have never seen anyone, sans Nancy interact with Tim besides on a call. The only time we saw was them speaking to him was before he died. Then when he passed, we saw how everyone was feeling, and while it is fair, they were acting like an old friend, a beloved teammate passed away when it seems like they were mere acquaintances.
Nancy was the one who told the team that he had a cat, where he was from, that he had family out of state. They (and we) did not know any of this. The firefighters of the 126 never made an effort to get to know the paramedic team until after Tim died.
I wonder if they ever made an effort to include the paramedic team when Michelle was captain. Would they have ever interacted with Nancy outside of the team if Carlos had not said anything to TK about how they are treating Nancy?
Tim passed 2x02, and TK became a paramedic in 2x06 and talked to Carlos about Nancy in 2x07. This means that there were 5 episodes where the team could have included Nancy and honored Tim, but they didn't. It wasn't until Carlos pointed out the unfair treatment to Nancy (and previously Tim) is when they had a change of heart.
I'm sitting here wondering how long it would have been before any of the firefighters of the 126 would have interacted with Nancy if TK hadn't joined the medical side. Would have been even longer if Carlos had never said anything?
I know it's just the pacing of the show, but many times, members of the 126 says that they are each other best friend, but we don't see that on screen that often.
I normally don't like to compare OG with LS, but we have seen how Chim and Hen are best friends, straight from the get-go, we've seen how close they are. And it may be because they are from different parts of the country, but it's four seasons in and we still don't see this. An example is Paul and Marjan, they are best friends and I believe they are because we have seen it on screen.
When Marjan was saying goodbye to everyone when she left to 'find herself' (I hate using that phrase ever since A**y from OG), I understood why Paul and Mateo were sad, we've seen how Marjan is their best friend, but we don't see Nancy and Marjan interact (besides lounging at the station) all that often so I was confused when Nancy was just as sad as Paul and Mateo.
This is a constant (small but still) problems with LS. As much as I love watching it, I sometimes can't overlook the continuity errors when it comes to friendships. We've seen time and time again in OG how important friendships and found family is in their line of work, but we don't see that in LS. Sure we see them hang out after work and at gatherings like game night at the Tarloft, but it's not really cementing that they are a found family, that they are friends outside of work. Sure they banter and poke fun at each other, but to an outsider, it looks nothing more than work friends.
I know the scenes at the Tarloft and at Owen's house are supposed to show us that they are a family in and out of work, but it doesn't seem to work most of the time.
Another example is Nancy and Mateo. We know they are an established couple, but the writers aren't doing anything to show they are a couple. If it wasn't shown, when they got together, I never would have guessed they were a couple. And even now, they don't seem compatible.
TL-DR: The 126 says that they are all part of the same family, but despite what we have seen on screen, it doesn't seem that way. Some of the reactions that the 126 had when Tim passed didn't make sense to me.
______________________
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK
This was not meant to bash any one character or another, this is merely my opinion on what I have seen on LS. If you or someone else sees it differently then that's completely fine. This is just what I think when thinking objectively about Friends and Found Family from 9-1-1 Lone Star compared to 9-1-1 OG.
12 notes
·
View notes