#not to mention all the kissing scenes in the previously on recaps
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the persistent and the cute
Over the last few days, there’s been a really interesting discussion in the comments of my reblog of the gifset @tinngun put together of the Utsukushii Kare season 2 finale kiss. I’m transplanting it here because 1) it seems like @tinngun could use a break from all those notifications and so forth 2) the conversation was totally getting buried and I think it might be interesting to folks who probably wouldn’t see it without it being brought back out into a main post.
So, first, here’s a quick recap of what I posted when I reblogged the gifset post in the first place. Well, the part that’s pertinent to this conversation, at least. I commented on the tropeyness of the scene, including allusions to Hira and Kiyoi’s sexual relationship, which (from what I hear) gets quite a bit of time in the novels but by virtue of TV as a medium, is mostly not portrayed in the series. In other words, since this part of the relationship isn’t shown directly the vast majority of the time, it has to be sketched out through these allusions, including what I’d consider coded language.
With regard to the coded terms, I brought up something @bookittyboop had mentioned to me previously, that “persistent” and “cute” have specific meanings in BL/yaoi/other related genres. Basically, someone labeled as “persistent” is more active/forceful sexually and someone labeled as “cute” is yielding/more passive, with these roles being mutually reinforcing (i.e. the more yielding the “cute” person is, the more forceful the “persistent” person becomes).
Then I talked about the way Hagiwara Riku’s voice shifts in the line, “Sorry, Kiyoi. I can’t wait any longer tonight.” I had checked out some clips of other roles of his and noticed that among other things, he really seems to use his voice to differentiate between characters. This helped me to notice how distinct his “can’t wait” voice was, and I thought this was probably a voice belonging to the “persistent” part of the character. And I was less sure about this, but I thought Yagi Yusei was playing into this as well by reacting to the voice by kind of melting/going all floppy in response to it (he’d been fairly swoony before that, but it definitely seemed to be going up a notch there).
Then @xnoel, perennial fountain of information, pointed me to this quote from an interview translation (highlighting added):
So yeah, this seems like confirmation! I mean, what else would Yagi be referring to when he talks about “Hira’s ‘dark’ side” than this authoritative husky whisper thing?
Then I got some really great comments which I’m going to share here with permission, in part because I asked if anyone could point me toward more information on the “persistent”/”cute” thing.
The ever-helpful @nieves-de-sugui said:
a little bit of translation notes for your analysis! Hira is saying, literally, "I can't hold back (anymore)" and it's a very tropey sentence to say in BL (and shoujo) right before getting it on. It's also the main indicator of taking over/taking charge of the sexual encounter. There's a lot of one taking over and the other giving in. (I think there's a lot here about how Japanese people relate to sex and how it should be done).
(I said I’d run into this trope in Kdramas before as well.)
And then the kind and knowledgeable @bookittyboop pretty much took me to school on the whole persistent/cute dichotomy! They left comments in two clusters at different times so I’m putting a little dinkus (the line of asterisks or symbol that marks a transition between sections) in there to show where that was. Oh, and I took out some greetings/closings and stuff like that for flow purposes. Here we go:
The best source I can think of (because otherwise this is the kind of thing your get through osmosis once you've watched enough Japanese media) is @absolutebl's post [link added by me] on the whipping boy trope, though there is more to it. I would classify Hira as a whipping boy/attack dog/service top and Kiyoi as more of a kuudere than a tsundere as well as a spoiled prince/pampered princess.
Their characterization and dynamic (and derivatives) is a staple not only in bl but in Japanese media. You've got a male character (Hira) who is the unassuming or even the loser archetype but unearths or shows a "manly" and protective side in benefit of his loved ones (many times after his "cowardice" or "uselessness" has let them be hurt) and slowly makes something of himself.
Then you got a (normally female) character who is a combination of cold and aloof (kuudere) or prickly and explosive (tsundere) but actually wants to be cherished and uses the gruff exterior as a way to protect herself from heartache/rejection.
The first archetype normally admires the second and wants to be at their service while the second sees the potential in them and the adoration makes them feel safe. In normal circumstances the first character has a submissive personality and the other a domineering one. The second character is also going to find emotional vulnerability extremely difficult to express. But in certain circumstances, there is a "mom friend hack" button.
* * *
When character 2 opens up/shows vulnerability, character 1 identifies a need in the other to be cared for and takes confidence from being chosen to provide that. There's also gap moe (duality cuteness) and horny "I'm gonna worship you so good you will forget everything else,” "gotta get top marks at satisfying you," and "you're so cute I wanna eat you up" buttons.
The second character in turn feels attracted, safe and tethered by that show of confidence and let's themselves (their barriers) go more and more . Those energies feed into each other and that's how you get to our kiss scene. Sometimes(Kiyoi's case) they add coyness and shyness ("no, that's too much you beast") because God forbid the tsundere/kuudere lacks plausible deniability when they go back to their senses. (there's a "baby it's cold outside"element too)
This is where @absolutebl chimed in to say they thought @bookittyboop was doing “a GREAT job” with this explanation.
And I agreed, and thanked them for the time and effort involved in such a useful explanation, but asked about the “mom friend hack” because it was new to me. Here was their explanation:
The mom friend is the responsible, caring one, prepared for any eventuality. If you're a generally anxious person but also the mom friend, you've got a hack where you handily navigate situations which would normally be embarrassing or anxiety-inducing if it's for your loved one's benefit.
For example:
-Buying condoms, pregnancy tests, emetics or other "embarrassing" stuff
-telling waitstaff they got an order wrong and to please change it
-asking a teacher to explain something again or revise an exam score
-giving a jerk a piece of your mind
Basically, you may not be able to stand for yourself or even make perfectly mundane, normal requests for your own sake, but the power of love lets you rationalize things, be brave, and do it for others.
I just realized I probably didn't clarify enough. Hira's thing is not exactly a "mom friend hack" but it's similar to it in the sense that "being needed" lets him overcome a mental block.
And they added, re: my theory about Kiyoi’s response to the Persistent Voice:
As for the kiss voice and Kiyoi's reaction, I too am convinced that was all on purpose. Bl drinks from yaoi manga, which has a treasure trove of visual cues and tropes. If there was a manga version, we'd probably have seen Hira suddenly get wolfy ears and shiny eyes + Kiyoi blushing like a maiden (maybe a fade to black with the dirtiest onomatopoeia known to man) to signal someone's getting railed within an inch of his life 😂. This is the real life equivalent.
So, yeah. Lots to think about here. I’m glad to know I seemed to be on the right track. It’s funny how there is so much material out there about some tropes and genre terms (googling seme and uke will get you more results than you know what to do with) while other tropes are harder to find anything about. (If only because of the vagaries of search terms, which might be a factor here.) If nothing else I’ll have this post to refer back to and I hope others will do the same if they find it at all useful.
Thanks again to @bookittyboop and @nieves-de-sugui for their thoughts! And to the illustrious @absolutebl for chiming in with praise (for @bookittyboop) and confirmation.
postscript:
There are a couple of things I keep noticing about that kiss scene since this discussion that I wanted to point out. I guess the fact that, due to both of my reblogs, I had a gifset of the scene at the top of my profile for three days probably has something to do with it.
First, I hadn’t noticed how much Kiyoi really is slipping into a “cute” persona even before the Persistent Voice is used--just in response to Hira’s first kiss. His eyes get very soft and he does that affectionate head-bonk but the pièce de résistance, to my mind, is the rather childlike way he sticks out the end of his tongue. So, yeah. The first stage of cuteness comes before the Voice is even used.
Second, I hadn’t even reckoned with just how floppy Kiyoi gets after the Voice. He’s swaying around so much that Hira keeps having to grab him so he doesn’t just keel over. He’s gone almost boneless.
I guess it’s just really fascinating to me how this set of tropes can be so pervasive in one culture (or at least noteworthy chunks of it) and yet almost entirely novel to me. I mean, I was aware cultural differences existed, of course, but sometimes getting hit by the reality of them is still startling.
#utsukushii kare#utsukushii kare season 2#utsukushii kare 2#hira x kiyoi#persistent x cute trope#bl tropes
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Time is fucked up in OFMD s2 and that's okay
I mean, we all know it. Time doesn't make any sense in ofmd. We saw in ep5 that Stede and the crew had a whole long ass adventure while Ed was just out fishing with Fang. The first arc isn't possible in one day, while fishing couldn't have taken more than 3 or 4 hours.
But what if it's more than that? What if it's a feature and not just continuity jokes or just super long ass days?
In season one, there was an active discontinuity in genre: comedic (some said muppety), romantic, dramatic or real-life like. Each character stuck to their own genre. This season, it's less the case, the genres all blend together to give us one romantic-comedy-drama show. I feel it's not as clear cut as it was, the vibes are more smoothed between scenes and characters.
What is not smoothed out this season is time. It makes no fucking sense. Here, we're made to believe, thanks to some continuity in some arcs, that everything happened in 4 days (one for each ep4-7). What if that's not true? What if each story advances within its own timeline, each arc independant from the others?
Let's recap some of the ep4-7 arcs. We have Izzy's self love/internal peace and discovery arc. Pete and Lucius relationship. Stede's growth as a pirate (with Izzy's help). Ed's own self acceptance. Ed and Stede romance of course. The crew, as a whole, also has its own timeline. We could add the Swede settling at Spanish Jackie's, Zheng's recruitment, or Minor Prince Dude launching a cabale against pirates with some Other British Dudes. And also, the delivery of the clocks in the thousands of Zheng's ship army.
Each one of those arcs/stories should take so much time, ranging from days to weeks or even months. Yet we're made to believe they all happened in 4—albeit very long—days? I call bullshit. It's not that ofmd's days are exceptionnally long. I believe each story took exactly the time it should have taken, but each in its own dimensional time pocket. They just happen to blur and meet sometimes.
Depending on which character you focus on, the time lapse between the scenes isn't the same, it's as simple as that:
Izzy's evolution makes perfect sense if you let him take his time. It's not out of character, it's out of time. His leg and forehead scar healing that fast are also proof of it. He had the time to heal and reconstruct himself. Something like months.
Ed and Stede felt to me as if at least two weeks had passed between their kiss on the deck under the moonlight and them making love after the Ned Low debacle. (It doesn't make it less rushed to them, mind you!)
Same for the crew: they're bored at the beginning of ep6, telling stories and rearranging furniture. Jim says things are going slow now. Do you say that after only 2 days of peace after escaping a storm and a death condemnation? Nope. Some weeks has passed.
Pete and Lucius are going at another pace entirely. When it's fast for the others, it's going slow for them (Lucius coming to term with his Blackbeard's obsession). When it's slow for the others (the weeks previously mentioned) it's fast for them (24h).
I'll stop here for the examples, you can figure out some others for yourselves.
Also also. The clocks. It's the symbol of it, really. First in ep4 Mary destroyed that cuckoo, then in ep7 all those clocks literally exploding? The show is literally saying: "time is fucked up, we know, what if we didn't bother with it?" It's honestly the same with all the (brilliant) historical inaccuracies happening.
They wanted to tell a story, which had many other stories within, but it didn't fit. So creators just said fuck it, it's a story, we can do whatever the fuck we want. They know what they're doing with their characters. They're writing their stories.
So yeah. We shouldn't try to take it too seriously and bother about time accuracy. It just won't fit.
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Episode 6 Queen of Tears BaekHong recap
Scene: Ramen and chill
After the emotional kiss they served to us, we finally saw a definite shift in their relationship. We can finally see them moving forward together, hand in hand. But Hyun Woo’s betrayal will be exposed, because YES found his divorce paper, we knew their happiness will be short and their suffering will continue. They are having ramen as a dinner and we saw that Hae In is already losing hope after being rejected by the cancer centre and she is already prepared to face her death. During her talk, if you look at Hyun Woo's expression it is exactly what I previously thought about him. He was not ready to face the reality, which is why he denies his feelings for her. He could no longer accept the fact that Hae In is dying, he knows now that he really can’t live without her. Before, he was hoping for her death, but now he is desperately hoping for a miracle to happen so that Hae In could live. He loves her. Hae In revealed to Hyun Woo about her will that she wrote before they got married. She wrote it because she wanted to marry him and her mother won’t give her blessings without the will. Once again, Hae In proves that she has always been sincere with her love for Hyun Woo, and Hyun Woo only realising it now. He probably felt stupid and pathetic for believing in Grace’s lie and doubting Hae In. He felt the weight of his previous actions and felt guilty for them, he makes her believe that he loves her when he was not and for making her trust him that he is the only one that will stay by her side and protect her. My heart just ached so much for them during this scene, because after the revelation of the divorce paper, all the things that he said to her during this moment were overshadowed by the effect of his divorce paper. Hae In will no longer remembers this moment after that because his betrayal left a big impact on her.
After so long, they are finally using the same bedroom again and this time they both wanted it. They are ready to mend their marriage life that has been overdue for too long. But, (sigh… why does things never work smoothly for these idiots) Hae In is hesitant and she feels that it is too awkward and early to take things further. So they start with small talk about everyday life. Hae In mentions Yena which was involved in a minor car accident a few days ago and her husband that insisted on her signing inheritance paper before anything happened. Hae In said to Hyun Woo that she is fortunate to have him as her husband and there is no other guy like him. Not knowing that Hyun Woo was plotting behind her back and now facing the guilt for lying to her and pretending to be worried for her.
He has finally FINALLY come back to his senses and our sweet Baek Hyun Woo has returned! He knows for sure now that no matter what happens in the future, he won’t leave her and he is sincerely praying that Hae In will be able to recover from her cancer. They are making small steps to mend their broken marriage by spending time together in Germany. Germany really holds the key to their marriage (and will also bring them misery). A very short recap to when Hyun Woo was meeting with the doctor, there is a very short moment where the scene shows Hyun Woo clasping his hands when the doctor agrees to try another procedure to increase Hae In’s white blood cells. While his face and voice did not even falter for a bit, it seems that it was probably the last resort to appeal to the doctor. He couldn't afford the doctor to reject them and when the doctor finally gave them the chance, he was relieved. A competent lawyer with a very good argument at that point was actually not confident and nervous. He was scared that there was nothing they could do for Hae In.
Scene: Strolling around Germany
Oblivious to the ruckus that happened back home, they spend their day exploring Germany just like how they did during their honeymoon. It started with them waiting for a train and Hyun Woo being the centre of attention again. That face card never declined apparently. Seeing them fight about petty things is the peak romcom we finally get from this series. Hae In’s jealousy of her perfect husband with a lot of admirers and Hyun Woo’ jealousy for Hae In’s first love (himself). The romcom is finally romcom-ing. They went to find their lock at the bridge but failed, walking around the day market aimlessly, just talking and eating together. When Hae In bought the four-leaf clover, it is obvious that she is holding onto any hopes that come her way. Hyun Woo noticed that and his expression darkened. He was not expecting Hae In to actually believe in the words that the salesman was saying, but he knows that she probably felt insecure and not confident to recover from her illness. They went back to the hospital for Hae In to receive her injection and she was baffled at the fact that her weight increased by 3kg. But this time, she looks brighter than the first time she arrived at the hospital alone. Because this time she has Baek Hyun Woo by her side. On her way to the treatment room, Hae In’s symptoms appear and this time she sees her dead older brother. Hyun Woo frantically ran outside when the nurse told him that she was seen leaving the hospital grounds from the CCTV. They share a deep talk about her disappearance and the reason behind her brother’s death. The talk made him understand her better and actually build a stronger foundation of his newfound love for her. They need to communicate more to understand each other and it won’t be until in later episode where they realise how bad they were at communicating to each other.
Scene: A big storm is coming
Hae In needed all the luck in this world and his husband is on the run to get them all for her. Can we just admire for a few seconds there, how fast he is running and how good he is at running. Man, so damn good looking at doing the most basic thing (but is anything ever basic when you’re THE Kim Soo Hyun). Back at home, everyone is furious due to his divorce paper and accusing Hyun Woo of whistle blowing. This family is so stupid no one can save them anymore. Once again we noticed how detailed-oriented Hyun Woo is. He is actually able to find their lock because he remembers the position of the cathedral when they put it there 3 years ago. Sad BGM is on, and we know our hearts will be crushed with them. They’re on the opposite side of the road when she switches on her phone (whyyyy) and finds out his divorce papers from her mom. Fuuuuuuuuuuuu…..
Summary:
Silence for the pain that they (we) need to endure for the upcoming episodes. Sigh… their happiness and our happiness is too short-lived. Baek-Hong war will start and it’s time for Hyun Woo to receive his karma for wishing for his wife’s death. He will pay for it and HARD at that.
#queen of tears#baekhong#rewatching#kdrama#four leaf clover#love lock#sanssouci#bus man#hand chemistry#handsome baek hyun woo#lawyer baek hyun woo
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Queen of the South 5x03 Debrief
Alright. I’ve been marinating on this long enough and I’ve had a few days to relax a little and get over my initial Game of THrones PTSD response to this episode. Thank you to all of you who helped talk me off the edge the other day, lol. I think I’ve moved on from my Daenerys-plot-line panic.
THAT SAID.
I’m still struggling to understand how betraying Marcel was in-character for Teresa. There are so many other ways that they could have portrayed her downward tailspin into queenpin crisis than having her so quickly betray one of her CORE values that they’ve spent four seasons building up. Or at least, spin it for the audience so that it looks like that’s what it is--a huge betrayal of her core values. I mean, she’s been having to betray her values from Day 2 of linking up with Camila, shall we take a quick inventory? Like she tried to say the associate of Lopez’s who was trying to steal from them should go free and quickly learned that’s not how it works (a moment I circle back to below, btw). Over the last few seasons, she:
held the innocent maid hostage
killed the Leon brother who, mind you, James set up to betray
kidnapped and traded in the life of Rios to work with George
stole from the innocent cashier at the horse race who James then killed (and lectured her about how it was totally necessary to kill him)
turned on Lil T’s uncle without actual proof and got several of his men killed in their gunfight
sailed away without Guero and then didn’t try to find out what had happened to him
ordered Kelly Anne killed (but let Camila live?)
tortured and killed Marcel’s guy Bobby for no reason
turned Javier in to the Judge in order to protect her business
And that’s just skimming the surface; I haven’t even gotten into everything. In fact one of my least favorite scenes in the series is her basically putting her own life (and James’s, Pote’s, George’s...) at risk to free La Pena’s sex slaves, because it just felt inconsistent to me with her growing smarts and reluctant ability to compromise in order to play a long game and hold onto what matters most. Like, the gal knows this business isn’t for saints. What makes her different, and ultimately successful, are her instincts, her intelligence, her honesty and transparency, and her ability to own up to her mistakes. People trust her because of a combination of these things--she commands respect and loyalty because of them. And historically, when she’s been forced into corners and had to compromise in order to survive, we’ve gotten to see her figure out ways to take accountability later.
But this time it feels different. Which, I argue, it didn’t HAVE to be. Betraying Marcel in the grand scheme of things really isn’t the worst thing. He’s in the business too. He’s not the innocent maid from season 1. Pote was the first one to suggest it--push it, even, as the only choice she had--at the beginning of the episode, and even Kelly Anne looked like she was grudgingly agreeing by her face. Couldn’t turning Marcel in and letting him know they’d work out a plan to get him out be consistent with her character (and ultimately just a part of the reality of the business)?
But no, they had to make it an out of character thing by planting this whole James speech about how trustworthy she is right in front of it for contrast. I totally agree it was shitty. I also think it was dumb because (1) Pote’s reason for why Boaz shouldn’t be turned over was that he was too unreliable and might leak to the feds but SO WILL MARCEL IF HE FEELS BETRAYED, and (2) literally she’s just showed Boaz that he can get away with murder and won’t face consequences because she needs him too much so... I don’t see anything good coming out of that. How many notches do you think she’s dropped now in his respect for her? Like I fucking love Boaz’s character right now, he carries every scene he’s in, so I’m happy to see more of him, but that just felt really out of character for her. But not in the way the writers tried to show. It was out of character because it wasn’t actually in line with what has always guided her decision-making. And, I think that SAME decision could have been spun in a way that didn’t seem quite so out of character. She could’ve made the decision with her usual integrity and intent to follow through on a plan.
Instead they’re going down a “she’s going to be betraying her core values in a major way” path and I don’t love it. I think there is PLENTY of material to work with to show her going dark and to give us worry for her soul without going in this direction and it just feels a little bait-y. Even just turning away from anything resembling emotion; taking coke to deal with stressful decisions (turning in Boaz could’ve stressed her out to the point of using, too...); etc. could have provided room in the story for her to go dark. So I don’t know. It felt like it got super heavy super fast and I don’t like it when TV shows try to shock the audiences just for the sake of shocking us. She’s a complex and interesting enough character as it is without having to endure some major personality twist.
(Also, I get that James is supposed to be a character whose perspective totally changed on everything after Teresa came into his life; but the guy had no qualms about killing totally innocent people for the first two seasons of the show, so you can’t convince me he doesn’t also in SOME WAY “get” the realities of the business and the tough shit they have to do. That said, HIS FACE when the police came in and how the poor guy had to just stand there and watch. Good acting there. I don’t think his heart broke in disappointment, though. I think he felt let down, yeah, but I think he’s gotta be worried about her now. Worried for her heart and hopefully understanding a bit more about what it is she knows about herself that she’s wanting to protect him from by not being together with him. This isn’t a thing where he really has a leg to stand on in terms of like, feeling betrayed by her himself.)
Anyway, wow, this is getting long and rambly. Point is I don’t love this story-line but I’m hoping that by introducing it early enough in the season, they’ll find a way to have it turn around again. I hope there’s a redemption arc that is less “Teresa becomes a villain and then James rescues her soul” and is more “Teresa is put in the position of making one impossible decision after another, slowly crumbles, and has to crawl her way out of the darkness with the help of people she loves.” I don’t want to be led to hate her by season end. I want to still love her and root for her. The way they wrote the betrayal in this episode really doesn’t make her that lovable and I think that could’ve/should’ve been handled differently. I’d love to hear other opinions about that!
Other random thoughts:
where is George?! George, come back
I really would’ve loved to have seen the Judge under Teresa’s thumb for at least ONE episode, or a HALF of one episode, before getting decapitated
speaking of, that scene WAS pretty golden... the head in the box, the cop moving the box... lolol
James looking all “who, ME?!?!?!?!?!” when Marcel calls it like it is that he’s in love with Teresa... sorry bud, that look would not win you a poker game, you’re going to have to mask your feelings a LITTLE bit more if you’re trying to convince anyone you actually aren’t aware you’re in love with her
the pregnancy story-line - how is Teresa going to react?!?!?!
and Molly’s acting was great in that emotional scene with Pote
but much as I love Pote, I’m really not into it from his perspective -- Hemky’s acting isn’t working for me maybe, or it just feels way too OOC for Pote to be all gushy about the baby
I’m also pregnant right now so I’m like Kelly Anne how are you in the first trimester and not like FALLING OVER WITH EXHAUSTION all the time because that’s been my own and everyone I know’s first trimester experience lol
I missed Oksana in this episode too
I ALMOST FORGOT James’s car chase! That was great. So many great season 1 callbacks so far and we’re only in episode 3.
I also felt like the decision to let Boaz go was a callback to Camila’s very first lesson to her about Lopez’s associate... wrong decision, T. Wrong decision.
I love Marcel’s character, and Alimi Ballard, a lot and hope we still get to see a bunch more of him this season
By the way, I’ve decided to stop speculating about how this is going to end. I don’t want to theorize about whether Teresa actually dies or not, and if so, whether it’s James who kills her, or whether maybe Pote will actually die so that it can be KA and Pote who don’t get the happy ending leaving room for Teresa to get hers, or whether Teresa will become the villain of the season and we’ll all hope she dies, what have you. I don’t want to watch any of the episode promos because they don’t help me not freak out and I especially don’t want to see any leaks about anything coming up. I’m scrolling past things that are obviously spoilerish because those things are not helping my blood pressure this season lololol. YES I TAKE THIS SHOW EXTREMELY PERSONALLY.
#qots spoilers#so much boaz foreshadowing#I'm also not giving up on all the love talk meaning we'll get some more good jeresa material#not to mention all the kissing scenes in the previously on recaps#just keep Teresa lovable please#or at least redeemable#however I will say that Alice's acting has been phenomenal#those hands slamming on the desk#whew#queen of the south#qots#season 5#5x03#txt post#qots reaction post
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The Truth & Irony of The Creators’ Pro-Maiko Comment: Is Maiko a childhood sweetheart OR a tumultuous headache?
This is Post-2 Maiko Critical. Previously, Post-1 Pro Maiko. Read both for the whole pov.
!!! These posts are academic and thorough. I am tired of one-sided half-baked ill-intentioned arguments, so I will properly argue both sides. And no, these arguments are not for the fooking ship wars; they’re for understanding the discourse. I do not condone demonizing characters, story, or fellow fans for the sake of shipping. Let’s respect others’ preferences. If this offends you, leave and be at peace !!!
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CON : A Tumultuous Headache
If you, like me, value the bigger ATLA narrative more than its romantic subplots, then the following arguments hold more weight.
PART 5: The Downfall in their Beginning
As i’ve mentioned before, a childhood sweetheart story commonly begins when they are reunited, but they do not immediately get together unprompted (except for cliches like pre arranged marriage).
Since we’ve followed Zuko and Mai separately, we’ve also seen their childhood scene, and we know that they still remember each other; it is fair to expect their reunion as a crucial beginning to their love story. It is fair to expect that they would react to their differences and try to mend their connection after being years apart. It is fair to expect that there will be a clear set up and build up before they get together. It is fair to expect that they will not just happened.
To recap, what has been set up prior to their reunion? The narrative indicated (1) Mai’s crush on Zuko, first in the Return to Omashu and second in Zuko’s Alone. (2) Mai and Zuko had a childhood moment, i.e. the fountain incident, where it was a physical incident and there was no spoken interaction.
How did they reunite? In this scene:
(Excerpt from ATLA, The Awakening)
Mai: Aren't you cold?
Zuko: I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed.
Mai: [Yawns.] I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story. [Zuko frowns at her sarcastic response. Mai giggles and holds his face in her hands.] Stop worrying.
[Mai kisses Zuko. Mai exits, and Zuko stays.]
it just… happened.
That’s it. That’s the start of their story. There’s no set up from Zuko’s side. It doesn’t feel like it’s a reunion or that they’ve been separated for years. All they had was an odd interaction and then Mai kissed Zuko and left... It just happened.
I’m sure first-time viewers feel disjointed when they see that scene because it is out of nowhere.
Compare that to Zuko/Jin romance in the Tales of Ba Sing Se, which has a better beginning with clear set up, build up, and resolution.
Suffice to say this is a horrible start of a love story by itself. It only make sense if it functions as a subplot to the bigger narrative and is serving some kind of character arc or thematic role. Which brings us to…
Part 6: The Bigger Narrative Lens
Maiko story happens majorly in the first half of Book 3, interludes in the Boiling Rock, and ends in the finale.
Most of their romance is placed during Zuko’s regression arc, where he is simultaneously at the lowest of his external conflict and at the peak of his inner turmoil. Zuko finally receives everything he always wanted, his father’s approval, his ‘honor’, his nation, his home, and his throne. To sweeten the deal, he also gets a girlfriend. It’s everything he wants, yet he is more confused than ever, later admitting that he doesn’t know which is right and wrong. After a series of conversation with Iroh, following the revelation of Fire Nation’s upcoming atrocity in the war meeting, Zuko finally finds his true self, leaves his home and girlfriend, and acts upon the right purpose: to join the Avatar and bring balance to the world.
For Zuko’s narrative, Maiko only serve as a part of the ‘homecoming deal’, which is also confirmed by the ending. There is not much to go on in the story department other than “this girl loves me, i’ll say it back, we’re together now -unless duty calls, yikes.”
Unlike Zuko, Mai is anchored to the Fire Nation and its principles. Mai quietly stands by everything the warmongering nation stands for. When she fights on the field, it is at her own liberty and for her own personal reasons, not for a cause. She is apathetic to the world and its plight.
For Mai’s narrative, Mai’s love to Zuko is the backbone of her narrative role to foil Azula. Mai’s love gives her a reason to act up. Mai’s love has always been present, genuine, and everlasting. It is framed as her (only) redeeming quality.
What’s interesting to note is that where Maiko’s relationship does serve a purpose for each Mai’s and Zuko’s arc, those purposes are two paths on a tangent, entirely separate from each other, meeting at a point only to diverge.
PART 7: Tumultuous or not tumultuous? Is that bad?
Maiko’s moments usually exist in their own sweet bubble, but there is one exception. This is the only explicit moment in the show where Maiko interacts with the external conflicts aka the bigger narrative. This is also very defining to Maiko story as a whole, and may or may not have justified the Maiko ending. This is:
The Boiling Rock.
The whole of Maiko story in this episode perfectly sums up the tumultous nature of their relationship. (1) We start with a positive beat from Zuko, briefly reminiscing to Sokka his ex-girlfriend Mai. (2) Later, we have the heavy angst of Maiko’s interrogation scene, where Mai and Zuko has a yelling argument about their breakup, following the first admittance to their clash in ideology and worldview, with no resolution to the latter. (3) We have the awkward Zuko’s jest about protection, (4) and the angst plunges dramatically as Zuko locked Mai in the room, (5) and they stared heartbreakingly at each other, (6) then Zuko left anyway. (7) It went up the thrill with Mai emerging to save Zuko and friends from afar, (8) to which Zuko shockingly noticed, (9) but then left anyway. (10) Following Zuko’s absence comes Mai’s triumphant declaration of “I love Zuko more than I fear you,” completing her arc as Azula’s foil while reaffirming the audience of her genuine love.
Phew, that’s one rollercoaster of ups and downs. After this, the narrative drops Maiko entirely until that finale scene.
Is a tumultuous relationship a bad one?
In fiction, not necessarily. What’s more important is: tumultuous or not, romance with happy ending must prove how the couple complements each other by reaching a resolution to the relevant narrative conflicts.
Finally, PART 8: Does Maiko ultimately complement each other?
Before I discuss Maiko & external conflicts, I have to address that it is perfectly fine to have romance subplots that do not entwine with the bigger conflicts and stay complementary in their own sweet bubble. In fact, this is actually what is common with epic fictions, like Aragon/Arwen in the Lord of the Rings movie, Finnick/Annie in the Hunger Games movie, Lily/James Potter and Lupin/Tonks in Harry Potter movie.
However, significant ATLA romances (like Jet/Katara, Sokka/Yue, Sokka/Suki, Katara/Aang, as well as Mai/Zuko) are designed to interact with some pivotal external conflicts to eventually prove their match. Therefore, it is ridiculous for the ‘creators’ to say this:
“And really horrible stuff happened to Zuko and their country was doing some horrible things. But I think it’s really cool that once these external conflicts were out of their way, Zuko and Mai were finally able to really be together.”
sigh
Now,
Let’s examine if Maiko is complementary…
Evidence of notable Maiko moments absent of external conflicts:
Evidence of notable Maiko moments with external conflicts:
(1) In regards to “horrible stuff happening to Zuko.”
(2) In regards to “their country doing horrible things.”
So VERDICT…
Are they happy in their own bubble?
YES & NO. It’s tumultuous. It really depends on their mood and environment.
Do they deal with conflicts and how?
THE EXTENT OF THEIR DEALINGS: We know that Mai physically protects Zuko from harm, whereas Zuko never does the same for her. When external conflicts bled into their conversation, like the war meeting, they are never able to see eye to eye. Mai encourages Zuko to ignore his problems, while Zuko would either indulge her in denial or brood even further.
NOT DEALING WITH IT: From the evidences above, Zuko and Mai do not deal or do not continue to deal with (1) the clashes of their personalities, (2) their characteristic changes overtime, (3) their diverging interests and tastes, (4) their repressed turmoils, (5) the makeup-breakup ethics, (6) their differing moralities, (7) their dissent in basic principles, (8) their opposing worldview, (9) their stance to the fire nation, and (10) their future intentions. The most worrisome part is that they never address and discuss these issues without some external prompting, let alone would they attempt to compromise and reconcile on their own volition.
OVERALL: No, they do not deal with conflicts. The few times when they do, they deal with it in opposing ways: Mai would sweep things under the rug, while Zuko held on tight and remained visibly perturbed. Mai repressed her issues, while Zuko desperately sought to face it.
So are they ultimately complementary?
NO, especially in regards to emotional depths, external conflict, destiny, and ATLA’s bigger narrative. This is why their relationship feels shallow. It’s not the type that lasts.
Also, it is completely ironic that for a quote promoting Maiko’s relationship, it seems to forget that Zuko ended up being the Fire Lord, sovereign of state, leader of restoration, champion of world peace and progress, future builder of a united city. Moving forward, it is literally Zuko’s day to day obligation to deal with external conflicts for the rest of his lives. So even though they got together in finale, things are looking ultimately bleak for this couple.
In conclusion, where Maiko’s sweetness is largely rooted in the past and the remnants of nostalgia, Maiko’s turmoils come from most things in the present and everything in regards to the future.
~ That’s all folks! ~
How does Maiko represent the trope? Previously, <POST-1 PRO : A CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART>
#debunks#maiko critical#anti maiko#but honest#atla meta#atla critical#maiko#mai x zuko#bryke critical
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how exactly would you say jet and sokka are foils?? I never thought of it that way!
i’m so glad you asked anon!! ok ok so let me try my best to get my thoughts in order it’s been a while since i’ve touched on this! this got kinda long so lemme put it under a read more to save your dash:
(side note: a large majority of this analysis stems from what i believe is the original writers’ intent. the demonization and vilification of jet and his extremism in order to portray sokka as someone morally superior/a better leader is something i personally don’t agree with. these are all just analyses and observations derived from the presented text, and that’s just something to keep in mind while reading this. the following is less my own opinion, and moreso me trying to extrapolate the writer’s intentions directly, as i can’t write this analysis without acknowledging said intent.)
so i’m gonna open this post with the idea that jet’s episode is inherently a sokka episode. the events that happen are to contribute to his development and the main conflict centralizes around him. i say this because of what the episode opens with: sokka struggling to prove himself as a competent leader to the rest of the gaang. this is early on in season one, so sokka hasn’t necessarily “proven” himself yet as the braniac, common sense leader guy who helps keep everyone else in line. emphasis on yet, hence where this episode comes in.
the beginning scene has the following exchange (thanks avatarspirit.net):
Sokka (to Aang): I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk.
Katara: Who made you the boss?
Sokka: I'm not the boss—I'm the leader.
Katara (incredulous): You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!
Sokka: I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior. (tries to speak deeper) So...I'm the leader!
Katara: If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar.
Sokka: Are you kidding—he's just a goofy kid!
Aang: He's right.
Katara: Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl.
Sokka: I-I've kissed a girl—you...just haven't met her.
Katara: Who? Gran-gran? I've met Gran-gran.
Sokka: No—besides Gran-gran. Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instincts.
Katara: Okay, we'll try it your way Oh Wise Leader.
here, we see sokka struggling to be taken seriously (mostly by katara). we get the sense that the others don’t see him in any sort of responsibile light. sokka, as of right now, is sort of in the role of “older brother who takes charge just because he’s the oldest”, and neither aang nor katara seem to really take this resulting attitude seriously.
enter jet.
jet is the self assured, confident, charming, adaptive, competent leader who is, as of right now, everything sokka is not. jet’s first introduction is he and the freedom fighters decimating a fire nation camp that they all stumbled into, and jet even takes down one of the soldiers he was trying to go after. this puts sokka in a light of incompetence. he then experiences jealousy and mistrust when jet is around, as aang and katara immediately trust this stranger’s judgement over his own, which is suspicious and arguably hurtful, especially when he has known aang and katara for much longer than jet has and has been trying so hard to prove himself to them, only to have all his efforts shoved off to the side the moment they meet some guy.
Jet: One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town.
Katara: That's so brave.
Sokka (Sarcastically): Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse.
Katara: Don't pay any attention to my brother.
Jet: No problem. He probably had a rough day.
something to note is just how one-sided this jealousy is- jet acknowledges that sokka is smart and has valuable skills, especially later on when he has him come along for a mission. a lot of sokka’s struggle in this episode is pretty internal, outside of the many times he has sarcastically commented about jet and shown visible disdain. he has nothing to actually hold against jet- as of right now, his biggest grudge is that jet is a better leader than him.
at least, until sokka’s suspicions of him are confirmed and his plans reveal themselves to be “nefarious”, and this is where the divide between jet and sokka becomes more clear.
i’ll just quickly recap what happens but jet: attacks and beats up an old fire nation man and presumably planted a knife on him and said he was an assassin, lied to and used both katara and aang to fulfill his own plans and hid his true intentions from the both of them, and he also attempted to destroy the village of gaipan that he was saving through flooding it and killing everyone in it.
more importantly, though, is that sokka discovers jet’s plans and spies on him, which eventually leads to this confrontation.
Sokka: I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town.
Jet: Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation.
Sokka: There are people living there Jet—mothers and fathers and children.
Jet: We can't win without making some sacrifices.
Sokka: You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!
Jet: Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do.
Sokka: I do understand. I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want.
Jet: I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice.
Jet: I can't let you warn Katara and Aang. Take him for a walk--a long walk.
Sokka: You can't do this!
Jet: Cheer up, Sokka. We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today.
here, we see a conflict of morality between jet and sokka, despite having a shared goal: to destroy the fire nation. this is a moment that the narrative is trying to show that jet is someone sokka could’ve become, should he lose sight of his own principles. sokka and jet are put in direct contrast with one another, and what follows is supposed to be a testament of that morality. we get to see the inner conflict of who is a good/better leader become an external one.
sokka refuses to let the innocents of gaipan drown, even though there are fire nation present within the village. previously, sokka has been shown to be extremely quick to anger, especially when firebenders are even mentioned, much like jet. but here, he is refusing to let this happen because of his own morals and principles, which jet is shown to lack. he is being upstanding as a leader through his example and restraint, even when no one is around. he is defending what he believes is right, as is jet, except: the moment their views and beliefs don’t align, is when jet decides to turn on sokka.
and it takes the deception of jet and the severity of his actions for aang and katara to realize who they should’ve believed in and trusted.
Aang: Sokka's still out there—he's our only chance.
Katara: Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please.
the episode ends with the village flooded, but its occupants still alive, thanks to the actions of sokka, who took the time to warn and save these people he didn’t know, even though some of which were fire nation. sokka proves himself to be both selfless and competent, thus reaffirming his friends’ belief in both him and his leadership, which he has now proven to be just and sound.
unlike jet, who has shown that he leads through deception and lies, and as such, is not sokka.
as much as jet sokka could’ve been, jet can never be sokka because of what he lacks morally. and in this episode, sokka makes a conscious choice to ensure that he will not let himself become what jet has shown himself to be, now that he’s seen it, and is allowed to develop as a leader from that point on.
tl;dr: sokka and jet are intentional character parallels, and jet services sokka’s development and growth as a leader through existing as his opposite.
#for once i'm not rambling in the tags as my thoughts are all in the side notes up there so there you go#anyways i'm kind of mad that sokka and jet's resulting conflict is kind of glossed over#and replaced with a joke that katara is jet's girlfriend or something in s2#especially when these inherent parallels exist#it makes no sense that katara is less trusting of jet than sokka when sokka was the one arguably most personally affected by jet#jet#atla jet#jet atla#sokka#atla sokka#sokka atla#atla#avatar the last airbender#character analysis#atla meta#ask#anon#original
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Debris 1x13 "Celestial Body": rewatch Reaction'd, questions and comments
So if all those people are experiencing emotional convergence, who are they converging from? Who's sending the emotional signal that the debris is channeling, or is it the debris manifesting it's "consciousness" in a way that we can understand it by way of human conduits?
Maddox is clearly trading debris pieces with Irina (perhaps the piece that he took out of storage off the books), and Irina is on the phone with presumably her handler/ boss to negotiate this trade. She gives him lateral (which I assume means latitudinal) readings and then he asks for longitudinal readings which we don't get to hear. They are: Lateral 105, 112, 115, 120, 113, 110, 109
What's the significance of these measures? Latitude goes from 0° to 90° from the equator, so that doesn't track unless the scene is cut wrong and they're meant to be longitudinal (E/W) readings, which go to 180° relative to the prime meridian. That would make more sense, because after Irina is done with the first set of readings, the unknown caller on the phone says "drop to level two for vertical" and latitudes are North/South.
If we're talking Western longitudes, notable landmarks include: Denver, Salt Lake City UT / Phoenix AZ / nearly Sedona AZ - aka where the telesphere went, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe/ Nevada border, Great Salt Lake, Alberta-Saskatchewan border, and the Utah-Arizona border.
Or perhaps they're not part of terrestrial measurement at all. The act of "lateral reading" could just mean verifying your sources/accuracy as you go, where as vertical reading is reading for content first to see if something is worth evaluating for sources.
However, if they are part of coordinates, then is the fragment that Maddox is trading with Irina a legitimate "mapmaker" piece like George previously said Influx was seeking? Ya know, when he lied to his daughter. Can a mapmaker piece track moving/animate debris akin to the telesphere? Are those black dust cloud beings George is running from made up of animate debris?
Bryan: After becoming a parent you're in a heightened emotional state, emotionally raw.
George: Higher highs, lower lows, the joy of having a child, the postpartum depression, and the fear of getting it wrong.
Me: Are we in a pensive, self-reflective mood, George? Are you practicing your pub trivia Bryan, delivering exposition, or are you speaking from personal character experience? Seriously, how would you know?!
John Noble as Otto, man why does he always make such a good villain?
What is with the cryptic vagueness when Maddox tells Irina, "You know I can't let you leave with that case right? I mean you know that. There's another door for you Irina, one that only you can go through." They seemed almost on good terms in a previous episode, like friends or something more in a past life "nice car, i almost left / no you didn't", he wouldn't kill her, would he? Or is it more like a code between them, a sort of "I'm being watched, take the back exit"?
Hey, so why is it that sometimes George's eye seems opaque and damaged from the debris implant, but then when he's talking to Finola after he distracts Bryan while being Debris whisperer, his eye seems fine? PS: I googled Tyrone Benskin just to see what he looks like when he's not playing George Jones and I didn't know he's a former member of Canadian Parliament. Don't trust the government, eh?
George: "You're such a compassionate person, you always have been. So much of your mother in you." That's the second time that Finola's mother has been mentioned in the series, back from the pilot. Is it a coincidence that the first piece of debris that chose to interact with Finola resonated her mom? More than just Finola's desire being reflected by the debris, but the debris emoting it's first impression of her as someone compassionate that it can trust?
It also raises my heckles that George repeats, almost word for word, something that Finola said in episode 3. "If we can't help people, we do not deserve this debris / if we don't use this debris on these people, we are not worthy to have it." Are father and daughter that ideologically similar, or has he been spying on her progress this whole time, or both?
George: "I took my life to allow myself a rebirth, I paid the price. I want you to know that not one day goes by that I don't think of you and your sister. I want you to know this." This coincides with my initial impression that George staged his death to get away from Orbital after he assessed how his research was being used/abused.
George: "You never wanted to go into the pool, I had to throw you in, and you kicked and screamed, but you always did better that way." Immabout to throw you George, just keep talking!!!! I'm sorry, this charicature of absentee father reminiscing about the good old days really ticks me off from personal experience.
Also, as a person with a disability, I am not particularly pleased with the use of Dario as a plot device instead of a thoughtful character with a backstory at this point in the show for 13 whole episodes now. Pretty pissed off actually, so they better do something phenomenal and pivotal with Christian Rose (Dario) in season 2 [maybe have his character interact with debris in a similar way to Caroline]. But that's another rant about ableism in screenwriting for another angry day....
George: "A telesphere was born yesterday. It came from a pocket dimension inside Orbital. I think it's birth may have triggered the debris." This is perhaps the one-ish episode that I find George remotely interesting and also infuriating, particularly because of the way he speaks, like he's finally taken off the guise of the old, well-meaning eccentric and turned into a sharp, cunning, and at times calculatingly ruthless individual. I find it peculiar that he says a telesphere is born. Makes me think that the debris is not just part of a spacecraft, but a hybrid of the beings piloting that craft.
I get tremendous satisfaction from Finola head-butting people. This should continue.
I'm not familiar with all of the work of JH Wyman to know if this is a running theme or an ongoing joke. But does he keep his writing staff in a constant state of starvation? Is that why pieces of debris are called "Nachos", and why Influx has "Beans" to shield them from debris side effects, and why Bryan is always eating junk food? Should I be worried about the writer's room and start sending them healthy snacks?!? Just give me an SOS in the credit roll.
Speaking of: is the "Bean" that Finola ingested a piece of debris? Similar to the pieces of debris that fused with Anson Ash? Will it impart some physical benefits to her moving forward?
"I won't lose you again...you belong with me." What are you talking about George Jones, you made the conscious decision to leave your family. You didn't lose Finola, she lost you. In this version of reality at least. Or (unscripted backstory) did Jones and his wife separate prior to her death / was Finola brought up mostly by her mother? That doesn't seem the case if she was buying her father birthday presents and took it upon herself to settle his affairs after his death.
Why do the Influx Operatives Otto and Anson have tattoos on their hands, but not Loeb? Is he like the low end of the totem pole FNG who hasn't earned his stripes, hence why Otto gives him s***: aka "Careful you cretin. All the finesse of a butcher."
What is the hierarchy of Influx anyway? Despite being an anti-government "for the people/ elevate the human consciousness" organization they do still seem to have a governing hierarchy and Otto and George seem to be on the same level, pretty high in rank / they talk with confidence to each other like they go back a while.
What is that weird thing that Otto does with his hands to Bryan's head? What are all the weird things Otto does, including his massacre at the petrol station? Ick.
Why is it that Leob and George are freaked out by the black smoke (debris particle?) man, but Anson and Otto aren't? They seem to see them(?), but don't overtly react.
Bryan: "It seems like we're entering some kind of new phase." Gee where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, the story of "Blackwater grandfather" and the black wind that they're still teasing endlessly while refusing to tether it into some kind of world building lore. Agggghh!
Lololol, Bryan and Finola's dynamic even in the midst of a very serious episode makes me laugh. "Devon Reese / two e's? / Two e's!" "This one smells like baby diapers. Almost as bad as the tech section of the plane/ You mean your section of the plane. / Almost." That zinger 👍
Paraphrasing Bryan: "[recapping, recap, and did I mention recap]...something about George doesn't feel right." Personal pet peeve: I HATE IT when episodes have intentional explanatory lines like this to point out the fact that we as audience are privy to information that the main characters aren't. Not only does it make the main characters seem less intelligent, it breaks the fourth wall a little bit and gives the impression that the audience, which is ahead of the plot, is not as intelligent and needs a reminder that we're ahead. Lackadaisical writing drives me nuts!!! I can't outright say that it's "bad" dialogue, but it's not a choice I would make if I wanted uninterrupted viewer immersion.
Finola: "My instincts are good" Me: You are an emotionally intelligent decision maker with gaping personal blind spots.
George: You belong with me, your father.
Finola: My father died six months ago, and you are not him.
Me: Chef's kiss 👏👏👏
Otto: "It would never have worked out with that girl [Finola], not in any iteration." Definitely makes me lean towards the fan theory that the alt!Finola in (presumably) suspensia in Sedona Arizona got plucked from another reality.
Surprisingly, the ending credit roll has no voiceover as all the previous episodes of the season have. Disappointed that there's no potential teaser to a season 2 if the show gets renewed. But I find it curious that the extras who were demonstrating emotional convergence were credited as: chess board persons. Not sure if that's relevant, but I definitely feel like this show is playing games with me and my emotions.
#nbc debris#debris 1x13#debris spoilers#george jones#finola jones#bryan beneventi#celestial body#sci fi#high concept sci fi#questionable execution#this show guys#renew debris#but also I need to talk with JH Wyman
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The Disease of Addiction
Euphoria Special Episode Part 1: Rue (Recap & Review)
Before I begin my official review of this episode, I would like to preface my thoughts with a bit of a primer about spoilers and trigger warnings. The show covers a range of topics from addiction to mental health. Still, I specifically want to warn anyone reading that I explicitly talk about and mention the topic of suicide in my review. If this is triggering for you in any way, please, don’t read ahead and take care of yourself! Okay, that’s it; I hope you enjoy my thoughts, and please let me know if you have any feedback or comments for my review and things I can change or fix in the future.
Where to begin with such a loaded episode...we knew the format and style of the episode would be simplistic based on the current realities of filming amidst a pandemic and what we saw to be a scene from Season 2 that the creator Sam Levinson expanded upon. Zendaya herself let us know that the episode's storytelling method would be vastly different from what we’ve already seen on the show. The format and simplicity of the episode, in contrast to the loaded dialogue and content of the scenes, are perfect. The camera takes you right into the middle of these conversations with Rue and Ali. But before we can even dive into what they talk about, we have to address the elephant in the room that is Rules. The episode begins with what is probably one of the most gut-wrenching sequences I have seen on the show. Because we know the reality and truth of their current predicament, Rue’s peppered kisses across Jules’ body and her tight squeezes and hugs from behind Jules evoke a strong sense of loss and pain for the viewer. The sheer intensity of the physicality of Rue’s affection for Jules is so overpowering and overwhelmingly present, we can almost feel the imbalance in their relationship through the screen. There is something to be said for the harsh reality of Rue’s dependence on Jules being reflected even in such a non-objective dream-like sequence. And yet, even in Rue’s wildest dreams and happiest stupor, she does not imagine the sobriety of her future. To me, that is indeed the crux of her character and the essence of this episode. Ali himself says, “The point is your sobriety.” And while it may feel like a focal point of discussion, the conversation flows in a way that seems to bounce back and forth between the two like a simple tennis match. It is easy to follow between Ali’s most potent clearest convictions about how the world works and Rue’s drug-addled hazy perception. The inherent contrast between their mental states and the different points of life in which they are both standing hit the viewer at alternate moments.
But we know Rue is not sober even as she lies to Ali and stumbles out of the bathroom, the shaky camerawork conveying her recent use. She is wearing the same shirt from the dream but has her signature hoodie on, her messy curly locks running down her back and glassy eyes staring straight ahead. The scene moves from her imagination of life with Jules to her lies about use. Her eventual admittance to being a high-functioning user happens as quickly as the conversation moves from sobriety to faith.
So I might be biased and hence don’t think I am incorrect in admitting that Zendaya has never given us a bad performance in her life. Even as she lies to Ali’s face and he is quick to call out her apparent contradictions, the faint slurring of her voice and her glazed eyes tell all. As striking as the conversation is, it feels even stranger for me to admit I felt comforted by Rue’s confession to thoughts of ending her life. And even as she admits to the darkest moments in her mind, Ali’s face and reaction are an even better neutralizer for what would generally be such an alarming thing to say to someone you barely know. As they continue to discuss her eventual relapse and all the reasons behind it (including racing thoughts encompassing “all the things I remember and all the things I wish I didn’t”), the viewer can envision the sequence of events that was shown to us in the finale - her fights with her mother and sister, her first time using when her father was fast asleep, her father’s death, her sister finding her after her overdose.
As much as I would like to quote the entire episode, I have to say Ali’s monologue about the idea that none of us are born evil and that society views mental illness and addiction as a personal moral failure rather than an overarching system many of us are incapable of overcoming, to be one of, if not the most decisive moments of the entire show. The line about coming out of the womb with “a few wires crossed” but still a beautiful baby girl eventually messing her way up through life struck a chord in me. I didn’t ask to be born this way. I don’t feel in control of my mind or the way it ever seems to work. And I’m always going to be a bad person. The disease of addiction and mental illness lets you - no, it makes you - view everything you have ever done in your life as not a consequence of the way your mind works, but as an active choice, you have consistently made, as you screwed up everything you’ve ever loved, and let down everyone you have ever cared about. The disease is not you as a person or even the way you think, and yet it is powerful enough to feel that way. Almost like the rapid cycling between mania and depression, the disease flips between, making you feel like the most powerful, invincible person alive and the absolute scum of the earth. There is nothing in between.
Ali’s backstory and his monologues about his change in faith from Christianity (when he was previously known as Martin) to Islam and the world's revolutions were fascinating. Side note: I did think the line about women converting to Islam was unnecessary, but I digress.
Rue’s understanding of the Narcotics Anonymous program's steps was the perfect way to bring in the conversation of faith. As she mentions her difficulty in coming to terms with the idea that there is greater power in charge of her behaviour and the way she surrenders herself to drugs, Ali chimes in with, “You don’t believe there is a power on Earth greater than Rue.” She disagrees and continues quoting and citing different sources she believes to be omniscient and great. And I absolutely agree with her. To me, there is no greater power than the source of art, the music that keeps me going, that feels like it’s the only thing keeping me from stopping the blood pumping through my veins. I understand Rue. But I also understand Ali. And yet, when Rue goes on to talk about the inexplicable workings of the world, my heart stops. There is no reason. There is no reason for the absolute pain and loss and suffering I’ve experienced, for the trauma I’ve witnessed and endured. For the absolutely horrifying things, the people closest to me have lived through. It is merely chaos. There is no reason I wake up every single day, regretting the fact that I did indeed wake up and that I am alive and breathing. So I Understand Rue. But Ali’s monologue about the moral arc of the universe and the unfathomable ways in which life and history line themselves up, to open our very eyes to the realizations we come to daily, is overwhelming. And yet, while he is waxing poetic about the intricacies of the world, we can see Rue’s exhausted eyes glaze over further, still unimpressed. “Maybe I’ll start a revolution like Malcolm X or something”, she quips back. But Ali is quick to counter; revolutions are no longer revolutionary.
Life as we know it is hypocrisy and foolish symbolism, only emphasizing his point about the universe's ridiculousness. Does any of it have meaning? Or is the meaningless void just another puzzle piece in a picture we will never get to see? There is also something to be said about Rue’s facial expressions as Ali continues his train of thought about her “generation”. As we often do when we hear our elders dismissively brush off our many concerns, she almost rolls her eyes. But he is listening, and he knows. “You think you’re out here fighting a revolution, and Bank of America is on your side? Give me a fucking break.” He’s not wrong. His speech reminds me of the masses of teens on TikTok creating video content specifically catered to an audience with an aesthetic that glamorizes the image of a revolutionary teen hero. But instead of a blazing bow and arrow, it is the common cell phone and a punchy soundtrack filtered through digitized audio. What would typically come across as preachy in any show catered to teens is, in fact, poignant. It also reminds me of how self-aware Euphoria is, knowing it’s guilty of falling into the same trap it accuses the viewer of doing.
You have to commit to bettering yourself, Ali essentially tells Rue. And to me, that is the most inherently human struggle we will ever face in our lifetimes. As long as we exist, we have to face the idea that each day is, in fact, not going to be easier than the last. And when he tells her that he believes in her and that the hope of her success (that may one day come) should be greater than the failure of her current demise holding her back, I want to cry. I keep thinking about that edit of Rue to this is me trying by Taylor Swift.
The music of the song that Jules has texted to Rue swells, and it is easy to get caught up in the angst of the moment. It accompanies the words, “I miss you.” And if it wasn’t for Ali’s conversation with his daughter as background noise, one would simply soak in the gut-wrenching pain of their separation. The juxtaposition of Ali trying his absolute best to cling to his family as Rue continues to isolate herself from her loved ones and push herself further into the abyss makes my heart physically hurt.
Ms. Marsha’s spell-binding words of wisdom about sobriety and relationships compared to Rue’s tired exhaustion imminently displayed on her face make the viewer a little wary of what comes next. Her misunderstanding of a juvenile relationship with Jules is made clear when Ali confronts her about the fact that the two of them never had a real conversation about their feelings for one another. Rue’s distrust in the idea that things will eventually work themselves out stems from the fact that she feels disappointed by how her loved ones have left her so far. She eventually spirals into this negatively destructive way of thinking. She cognitively recognizes and justifies getting left behind because she thinks and believes she deserves terrible things in life. She lists examples of past deeds to further cement her argument. But Ali counters back with the simple statement that “Drugs change who you are as a person.” Regardless of her actions, he believes she is still a genuinely good individual while she argues that she is absolutely not. My favourite part of this whole conversation and the entire episode is the manner in which Ali questions Rue’s negative cognitive patterns. Her brain and mind essentially excuse bad behaviour by convincing her that she will never be a good person. Hence she can never forgive herself, and thus, she will continue to remain in this cyclical pattern. Our actions may be inexcusable, but they do not line up with our intentions. The inevitable human struggle is not whether we are fundamentally good or bad, evil, flawed or perfect, but if we are (and again, not to quote my other favourite show, The Good Place) trying to be a better person than we previously were. If we recognize that our actions are wrong and we are capable of experiencing remorse and regret for said actions, who's to say we are entirely incapable of change. This reductive polarizing, and dismissive way of thinking is characteristic of the brains of most people living with a mental illness. Our outside influences, such as drugs, can all be contributing external factors to how we conduct ourselves through life. Ali’s short bit about redemption and human beings deeming actions unforgivable forever can easily be paralleled to direct conversations we have online about “cancel culture”. The phenomenon of dismissing and reducing someone to their mistakes instead of allowing them to grow from them is a nice sentiment. Still, if we do not truly take accountability into action and witness no real changes or remorse, we can quickly get stuck in that cycle. Even if our beliefs do not line up with our actions, drugs can eventually change that. The belief system we hold so dearly, the convictions we strongly feel, can all be washed away by the simple use of drugs, Ali explains as he tells Rue about his family background. His experiences with abuse and his eventual hypocrisy as he plays the role he always feared in his family leave the viewer speechless. As we watch him tell his tale of regret, there is no woe or sorrow in admitting he is or isn’t a fundamentally good or bad person, just the thought of his attempt to change his ways that impacts the viewer.
As the viewer waits with bated breath to see what comes out of Rue’s mouth next, it is not a surprise (to me personally). Rue has no intention of staying sober because she has no intention of staying alive much longer. Ali asks her why she feels that way. She responds with her sentiments about the cruelty of the world. Ali understands. We truly are living in dark times, witnessing truly horrific events, and the fact that we even have the capacity to care any longer is indicative of our will to stay alive. It doesn’t make much sense when you think about it, but when you are so sad, so grief-stricken by the news, by the world’s turn of events, by the mere thought of witnessing more tragedy that you cannot bear to be alive any longer, it means that you are deeply invested.
Invested in the way things will turn out even if you do not personally believe you want to participate or even be privy to being complicit in a system that does nothing but churn out pain, anger, and hatred. When I was at the lowest point in my life and attempted to end my own life, I was overwhelmed by the goings-on of the world. As emotionally drained as Rue is, a part of her still cares. She wants her sister and mother to know that she really tried. Just as I wanted and still want my parents and friends to be okay without me when I do eventually leave this earth. Of course, I care about what happens to them. The idea that suicide or suicidal ideation is inherently selfish is so contradictory to the reality of how suicidal individuals genuinely feel. It is the opposite. We care more than most, and we care to the point that it hurts to extend another moment of kindness to ourselves amid all the chaos and madness of the world. But still, we try. We do our best. Ali believes in Rue. He has faith in her.
The entire episode ends on a melancholy note as Rue and Ali depart the diner with Rue wistfully staring out the window as he drives her home. Ali loves his conversations with Rue and vice-versa. The fact that two people can be sitting at a diner alone on Christmas Eve talking about the beauty and cruelty of the world and everything ranging from politics to addiction to suicide to love to family and anything in between goes to show us that humans will always find a way. The fact that two people struggling and suffering from addiction can find their own way about and amidst the chaos of the world and still have these meaningful conversations about life and existence tells us that ultimately, Trouble Don’t Last Always.
#euphoria#zendaya#sam levinson#colman domingo#rue bennett#jules vaughn#rules#hbo#recap#review#nanwrites#rue#jules#zendaya coleman
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An Offer Received - Part VI
A Jaguar Villain Tom Hiddleston Character (Thomas Conrad) fanfic
Pairing: Thomas Conrad x Fem!reader
Summary: Life underwater reveals the grand plan and...victory?
Rating: Sexual content NSFW smut (more sensual than explicit, but still please be ye warned), controlling behavior, f-bombs, discussion of violence happening out-of-scene, Conrad being Conrad
Previously: Part V - 5 Days
A/N: And we come to the end! Hopefully the loose economics isn’t too off-putting and semi-plausible (at least for this version of a modern world ha). Thank you to everyone who’s read and enjoyed!
GIF credit to the original poster via the Tumblr search!
Part VI - 5 Empires
As best you could figure, there were three compartment rooms exclusive for your and Conrad’s use. The first was the combined living room and your office. The second was a smaller room, connected to your office, that served as Conrad’s office – his nerve center, as you came to think of it. The third room was a single bedroom with a bed just big enough for two; built-in wardrobe and drawers lining the walls; and a small, functional bathroom. Or head, as the onboard sailors called it.
Beyond those three compartments, your movements were fairly limited and presided over by the seemingly indifferent crew that moved around you. “Miss Fox”, they all called you, inclining their heads politely when you passed or encountered them in the wardroom. Fortunately, no one waited on you hand and foot. You had free reign in the wardroom for food, coffee, and snacks. Hell, you suspected you might gain weight on this voyage with no chance to run or get any real exercise. At least the clothes that had been provided for you were surprisingly practical – suits with both trousers and skirts, tasteful blouses, silken cami and shorts sleepwear – all perfectly in your size.
Between working and surfing channels on the TV, you kept busy enough. It was still surprising that wireless internet or satellite or whatever it was worked so seamlessly underwater for all digital connections during your voyage.
Now that you were trapped with him underwater, living day-to-day, sharing a bed every night...it was disturbingly domestic and not. He still hadn’t told you much that was practical about anything, other than how to operate the shower controls.
You’d thought that, surely, now that you were here with him and no means of escape - maybe you would finally be privileged to know the grand plan. But you didn’t even know where the submarine was heading. You didn’t have your passport, but somehow you didn’t think that would be a problem whenever you arrived. But if this was his big move - or if he was making big moves - then would you at least be privileged to know if he won? Or if he lost?
That thought sat funny with you. If he lost. Of course, it was possible and, in fact, quite probable. Supervillains bent on world domination never won in the movies or comic books. But did you really consider Conrad a supervillain?
Hard to say.
He didn’t act much differently. He’d always walked and stood with the authority that he owned the world. With LOKI, he certainly had, and nothing about that had changed now. His cool, controlled demeanor had yet to slip, even though you spent a lot more concentrated time around him. At first, you feared what the single bed in the one bedroom would herald, but until last night, he’d been an unexpectedly, perfect gentleman. And even then, he’d only given you what you all but took from him.
You hadn’t meant to wake up. But the motion of the bed as he slid beneath the sheets stirred you. His scent enveloped you, always so enticing. Your hand reached out in a sleepy haze, settling to the hard plane of his chest, fingers tangling in the light scatter of hair. The heat of his body permeated the air, a welcome contrast to the chill of the submarine’s filtered air. Your head drifted on the pillow, only wanting to curl closer.
His minty breath fanned your face as a warm, solid hand covered yours, pressing it flat against his skin. Arousal suffused you, warm and rolling. Your legs twitched against the sheets, brushing his coarse leg hair. His nose skimmed yours as you breathed him in.
When your lips met his, there was no resistance. No illusion. Half-lucid drowsiness had given way to aching want, and he groaned softly as you rolled atop him. His hand rose to frame your face, angling you deeper into the kiss as his other hand drifted down your spine. You moaned, low and breathy, as tongues tangled and you felt his arousal grow against you. Without realizing it, your hips started to roll in slow, teasing waves.
In a fluid, tender motion you were on your back with the heat of his body everywhere above you. Those nimble fingers caressed your breast through the silk of your cami as he angled his hips to let you slide down his sleep shorts. Yours went next and you whimpered at the feel of him, hard and heavy, against your core. With no words, no questions, he pushed inside, burying to the hilt before setting a slow, steady pace.
He brushed that secretive, intense place within you on each stroke, tearing raw moans from your throat. Tears stung your eyes, overwhelmed and overcome, as he continued to move, your fingers digging into the muscles of his back. His forehead rested against yours, noses nuzzling as you each gasped and moaned your shared pleasure. With the deep slide of him inside and the press of him outside, it didn’t take long until your release burst in blinding euphoria.
And you did the unthinkable. Words slipped from your lips before you could even think.
“Oh, Tom….”
You didn’t realize what you’d said until later. Much later. After he’d told you not to wash away the evidence of your shared passion. After you’d fallen asleep, curled into him, despite the tacky moisture pooling between your thighs. After you’d woken to see the sheets stained beyond reuse. After he’d brought enough breakfast and coffee for two as you each dressed for the day.
And now...now, you braced for his response. For his inevitable retaliation for the liberties you took, either with his given name or his person. He’d never given you permission to call him ‘Tom’.
You blew another sigh, distracted from your work yet again. And all of that was to say nothing of even beginning to analyze what drove you into his arms at the late night hour in the first place. Was this the beginning of some twisted captivity dependency? Where you were just that desperate for human contact that you turned to your captor?
Not quite. He hadn’t abducted you. You could have pitched a fit, refused to go, and likely wound up in the bottom of the harbor along with your watch. But you didn’t. You were here.
The VI on the bottom of your foot throbbed.
But the hours continued to progress, and it proved just another day under the water.
Until it wasn’t. Until he lounged on the couch, oddly close to you, oddly relaxed. His tie had disappeared, along with his suit jacket. The top buttons of his dark shirt revealed a tease of skin, and his sleeves were cuffed just above his elbows. He sipped from a highball of scotch as you nursed your wine. The TV droned mindlessly on global news, current events.
“It’s been four days,” you started softly, “are we still planning to arrive tomorrow?”
He took a slow sip of scotch. “Yes.”
“Is that when I’ll learn more?”
He cut you with a wry, sideways look. “Don’t you want to maintain some plausible deniability?”
You bristled. Sure, you’d thought of that, but you didn’t like the insulation on his voice. You weren’t ready for him to make a rash decision on your behalf and cut off your left foot. “At this point…after last night – difficult to deny I’m not a willing participant in your coup or revolution or whatever you’re terming it.”
“It’s neither of those things.” He paused for another mouthful of scotch. “Certainly nothing so dramatic. Dramatic change invites a dramatic response, which does no one any good. Subtlety is key until the moment of revel.”
You couldn’t hold back a soft snort. “Until you…what? Rise out of the water on a fountain of righteousness?”
“Nothing so fantastical. The dominoes will start to fall tomorrow. You’ll see.”
You took another drink of wine, debating pushing your luck. Why not? “I thought you might be angry, or...displeased after last night.”
He hummed softly, his eyes darting up and down your torso as he raised a hand to his mouth, teasing his thumb with his front teeth . “Now, why would you think that?”
“No one calls you ‘Thomas’, let alone ‘Tom’.�� You weren’t going to mention that conversation with Amelia. “I just want to know if I should be on my guard for you to corner me against the bulkhead for another of your so-called ‘lessons’.”
“In the dark of night with you warming my bed so freely, you’ll find little behind closed doors that displeases me. However, should such an incident bleed over into the daylight, that will be a different discussion.”
You blinked, doubting you heard him right. “That...that’s it?”
He turned to you with a distantly annoyed expression. “I’ve told you before - you’re not one for trite questions. You have what you have. And soon…,” his lips curled in a wolfish smile, “we’ll have the world.”
You’re not sure how you slept that night, but you did. You did, and you worked until he interrupted you, switching on the news.
“Alright, thank you, Adam.” The anchor turned back to face the main camera. “Again, to recap - if you’re just joining us - we’re 14 hours into what’s already being called the most massive market shakeup in history. The trend started in the Japan Exchange Group - the world’s 3rd largest financial market. A trickle of sales and acquisitions that grew to cascading proportions, with far-reaching impacts into the Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. Financial analysts are now reporting the moves permeated across these markets now have spread through the Bombay Stock Exchange, and are starting to manifest in Euronext. We have our own analyst, Ted Marshall, joining us now. Hello, Ted.”
The newscast split screens, and a spectacled man in a frumpy suit joined the anchor. “Hello, yes - as you said - the financial world has never seen movement of this magnitude. And, to be clear, we’re talking about movements of tectonic proportions that have left investors around the globe scratching their heads and frantically trying to keep up.”
“As we’ve already seen, six of the ten largest markets in the world have already been impacted. What risk do you see for the remaining four markets?”
“I don’t think it’s a risk at all - I think it’s a predictable reality. Pinhole leaks precede a tsunami wave breaching a seawall. We’ve already seen those pinhole streams flow from one market to the next as trading floors open and then the big wave hits. It’s as if someone has found the thread that unites all of the world’s major markets, and is following that thread across the time zones, pulling to unravel and create something new.” Ted shook his head, as if in disbelief. “The world’s top ten stock markets control almost 80% of the global wealth. If what we’re seeing continues on through the UK and US based markets, then we could be looking at the largest redistribution and consolidation of wealth in history.”
You stared at the TV, nearly agape. This was unreal...it had to be. It didn’t make sense - how could....?
A cold chill ran down your spine as you glared over at Conrad. Sure, he was normally a man of confident bearing, but the intense pride that suffused his handsome face was unsettling. Slowly, he turned towards you, the corner of his mouth lifting as he spoke. “Admittedly, it was a hard thread to identify.” He muted the TV volume. “It took me years to execute the right contracts, plan the right mergers. And then more time, still, to recruit foot soldiers. But the sales and acquisitions will continue to waterfall through the western markets - until they seize upon the floors of the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, with LOKI emerging a triumphant victor.” He glanced back at the TV with an almost secretive air. “The reporters have it right - the world’s top ten markets do control nearly 80% of the global wealth, and by the time of the closing bell on Wall Street - 75% of that wealth will be directly under my control.”
Your eyes widened. “You’re just...you’re stealing the global wealth to fund your takeover?”
“Did you hear any mention of illegal activity?” He cut back to you with a sharp look. “That’s the beauty of it - all the sales, all of this tectonic movement and consolidation - has been out in the open for everyone and anyone to exploit, given the right resources and strength of will. Surely, I don’t need to remind you that I have both of those fully at my disposal.”
“But that’s...that’s….” Words escaped you as you turned back to the TV, seeing the headlines and stock market numbers on the screen. It was...dammit, it was smart, it was genius...it was terrifying. You forced a swallow. “So, what then? Once you control 75% of the global wealth, what happens then?”
“With 75% of the global economy facing bankruptcy, world leaders will have very little choice. But as I’ve said before, it’s a balance act to prove one has enough bases covered. Economic prowess is not enough to bring the nations into alignment, so it must be supplemented.” He glanced down at his watch, swiping through the touchscreen and pushing a side button.
The TV channel changed to a tactical display - a visual of the world’s continents with major cities marked and identified. Each city had a stock market indicator, tracking the progression of wealth accumulation, and symbols that looked like traffic signals. Most of the cities just had one traffic signal indicator, but some cities like Tokyo and London had two indicators. Washington, D.C. had three indicators. In fact, now that you looked again - all cities had red lights at the top of the indicators, but Tokyo and Beijing’s indicators were yellow.
You gulped, trying to understand. Both Tokyo and Beijing had a full wealth accumulation tracker, so what did the yellow lights represent? You turned to Conrad, his gaze fixed on you, observing your study of the map. “The yellow lights...does that represent your supplement?”
The dark grin that curled his lips didn’t reach his eyes. “It represents an inbound warhead. Two targets in Tokyo and one in Beijing - undetectable by radar, too small for anti-missile defense, and enough firepower to reduce the seats of those governments to smoldering ruins.” He waved at the TV. “With a few strategic hits, the old guard will visibly crumble, paving the way for a new world.”
“That’s monstrous!” You stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief. “Killing all those innocent people!”
“Innocent is a kind word for those who have brought the world to such a state. A few will perish, yes. Such important buildings are never truly empty, even after hours when the majority of its occupants are off basking in the wealth of their reaping.”
“But you can’t…that - that makes you no better than they are.”
“There are only so many ways to get their attention, and in this case - it’s best to speak languages they understand.”
You shook your head, still horrified. “Money and violence.”
“Precisely.”
You wanted to keep admonishing him, yelling at him, and even beg him to stop. Each scenario played out with ultimate futility in your mind. This was his submarine, this was his show, and this was his moment. Nothing in his overbearing arrogance would bend to your wishes that he cease and desist.
So, you watched. You watched the stock market wealth accumulators fill. You watched the traffic signals drop from red to yellow, and ultimately to green. You tried not to think about how many lives each light represented. Occasionally, the TV would revert back to the news - each station overwhelmed with the amount of incoming information, updates on world leaders rushed to safety, financial markets upheaved, buildings exploding into flame in yet another new city.
It was terrible to watch. Terrible, and yet - like a train crash - impossible to look away.
After time, after hours - eventually, the last wealth accumulator peaked. The last signal turned green.
And nothing. Nothing happened. The submarine continued along, just as it always had. Just another day under the water, blissfully oblivious to the destruction raging across the continents above. You’d completely lost track of the hour, feeling a deep bone-weary exhaustion gnaw at you. You couldn’t even recall the last time you’d eaten, your stomach a giant knot from all the anxious news activity.
Still, you watched coverage of the fallout. Unknown numbers of injured, but significantly less than if the buildings had been occupied. And the list of damage was extensive. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The Great Hall of the People. The Kremlin. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The Government of India Building. The Palace of Westminster. Buckingham Palace. The White House. The United States Capitol. But you already knew - you’d seen the map.
But then came a breaking announcement. After the twenty-four hours of chaos, everything had fallen still and quiet. No more inbound missiles. No more stock market movement. In fact, the governments of the world were beginning to read the outcome in the settling dust, starting to grasp that the vast wealth of the global economy was no longer theirs to control.
There were too many questions and not enough answers in the chaos - but there was a note. A single message with a concise purpose that arrived at the United Nations conspicuously after the last missile fell.
It brought a request. A request for a meeting. A request to talk through the global situation. And the meeting was due to start within minutes. World leaders from all over the globe planned to call in and listen firsthand to the discussion. And, of course, the origin of the note was untraceable and anonymous.
But you knew who had sent it.
He stood next to you now, dressed in the finest suit of his collection. The crispest cut, the sharpest fit, and the dark navy color did wonders for the crystal blue of his eyes. He looked like a man of power. Like...like the ruler of the world.
He caught your gaze with a sideways smirk before he turned for the door to his office. “Mustn’t be late, you know.”
You exhaled shakily. “So...so, that’s it? It’s over? You...won?”
He paused at the door, turning back for one last glance, steely determination glinting in his eyes. “What other choice do they have?”
The door closed behind him, and you held your breath.
The End
#tom hiddleston#villain#the art of villainy#hiddlesedit#good to be bad#world domination#loki#fanfic#an offer received#wannabe writer#tom hiddleston x reader#tom hiddleston x you#not rpf
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What I’ve Learned In My Creative Writing Class: Character
Disclaimer: I may sound aggressive and people may think I’m “calling them out” but I’m not. When looking at things to address, I just scrolled through Tumblr to see what the most requested things were. Nothing against anyone.
Here is a mixture of things I learned from my professor and have learned over creating characters the last 11 years. In writing, character is probably the most important thing. If you write a character that doesn’t keep the reader entertained or become attached to them, then your character isn’t doing their job. It’s similar to if we know someone super boring, typically we try to avoid them (I could just be a bad person though). In x reader writing, Y/N is a character. Characters need more than just a name and description but a backstory, personality, insecurities, and identity.
Backstory
I kind of blend backstory and personality in this but I think it flows together??
Y/N needs a backstory just like canon characters do. They need a family, friend group, interests, childhood memories, and more. The reader doesn’t have to know all these things but the author does. How do you know what your character would do if you don’t even know your character? I’ll repeat this; Y/N is a character. We may not know how you picture them physically and can come up with that ourselves, but that’s all we can do. We can’t create a personality for Y/N because that’s your job. I may get controversial in this.
You’re requested to write flirty reader. Why is Y/N flirty? How is Y/N flirty? Are they trying to gain something from acting like that? Are they just flirty on accident? Have they always been flirty? Did something happen that now they act like that? You can tell when there is no depth to a character when you don’t have any of these questions answered. I become more interested when a character mentions that Y/N hasn’t always been flirty like they are now and I’m curious as to why because it could answer one of the questions listed above. I’m aware that requests like that are meant for quick fluff but I’m never satisfied with fluff. There’s never enough substance to a character for me to really like it. Before I point out other commonly seen things that could be enhanced, let me explain what I mean by the things I explain with one of my own pieces.
In Kisses, a Hinata fluff drabble I wrote, I pictured Y/N’s whole day as well as friends, relations to people, his college major, and why he shares government with Tsukishima before I started writing and only wrote 634 words. I hinted at those things because it was important to in order to get the whole effect of what I’m trying to portray.
Y/N says his day is okay and his government class was boring, even with Tsukishima next to him. He hates his government class, which either means his professor sucks or it’s hot his strong suit academically. In this context, it’s the first one. He and Tsukishima share the same major: Paleontology. He’s how Y/N and Hinata met each other and is decently close to Y/N. They’ve matched up schedules because of this. I didn’t write all of this because I doubt the reader wanted me to go on a tangent about it but I wanted there to be a justified reason of why Y/N mentioned Tsukishima so casually. It also just adds more to me as a writer when writing because there’s more to work off of.
Y/N is close to Hinata’s teammates, which means they’ve been dating for a while. He knows how Osamu owns an onigiri store and knows Atsumu well enough that he doesn’t particularly like him because of his personality. He’s nice to him though and tries to make him feel included because Y/N’s friends made him feel like the third wheel when Hinata wasn’t there. It shows that there’s a kindness to him and makes you wonder if that’s why Hinata fell for him.
I thought of all of this before I started writing. It adds more personality and depth to the character, even if minimal, if you know their backstory. You don’t have to have an entire childhood backstory (unless needed) but it helps to know more about your character beyond the fact that they’re flirty.
Focus
Don’t focus a character around one thing.
The flirty character thing is part of a personality and can be woven into different things when done right. A tall reader shouldn’t be just about how scared everyone is of them because their height. How does Y/N feel about their height? Are they self-conscious? Do they even care? Also, for the love the god, stop requesting seven foot readers. I have received four of those in the past and it’s unrealistic and annoying.
So, Y/N is tall. What else do they have about them? Let’s say they are insecure of how tall they are, what do they do to hide that insecurity? A fun example of what I’m trying to say is in “Roy Spivey” by Miranda July. In the first three to four paragraphs, she mentions her height and what she does to go against it in a way.
For this reason, I always let men see me asleep early on in a relationship. It makes them realize that even though I am five feet eleven I am fragile and need to be taken care of. A man who can see the weakness of a giant knows that he is a man indeed.
This may not exactly scream “I am insecure of my height” by any means but she is aware of her height. Instead of sleeping, what does your character do to distract from their height if they’re self-conscious over it? Or do they love the fact they’re tall? If so, then what to do they do to show it off? Being tall is something but how someone reacts to it is another thing.
This applies to more than just tall readers but also readers who blush all the time (Touma Kikuchi from Ao Haru Ride), short readers, etc. You can use your characters so much better if you know they feel about the things you’re focused on.
Accuracy
If you’ve followed me long enough, then you know I have a thing about accuracy. I do a lot of research for everything I write, even if I think I am extraordinarily knowledgeable about the subject. This part is pretty optional depending on who you are as writer. I like things to feel real and be accurate but there are people who don’t care about that. Neither side is wrong. I do this a lot because of research I’ve done for novels I’ve written before and it makes me feel content. For Haikyuu, I just know the timeline near exact to where I don’t have to check to see what month certain things happened in. This is a me thing because I think it helps. It may not, writing is all opinion based anyways.
Volleyball player/manager Y/N is a common thing I see and I have written for both of them. I know literally nothing about volleyball, not counting what is taught in Haikyuu as well as the couple of matches my brother and I watched on YouTube, so I researched things. Sports are one of those things that it is hard to be 100% accurate unless you know the sport. I try not to write out game scenes because I don’t know how to explain what each move is but I can do a recap after the match of a character thinking it over. They’re thinking about how maybe the blockers blocked a spike or they fucked up a receive or how angry someone was when something happened. If you write in third person, this creates a more first person like atmosphere and makes the reader closer to the character.
Accuracy with characters can do a lot to make them well-rounded and realistic. This can go into other things besides sports like choir, band, cheer, soccer, basketball, etc. (I am actually decent at writing soccer because it’s the best sport ever.)
For me, realism and accuracy makes the story more enjoyable. In my class, we discussed how flat character who are doing something incorrectly make us put a story down faster than anything else. You have to see Y/N as a character in order to be able to use them to your full ability. You can’t do half-assed anything with them because they are essentially more important than a canon character because it’s focused on them. Basically, put the same effort into everyone you write but the focal character (usually Y/N) should be focused on more and should be the character you know the best.
Surroundings
Everyone is influenced by their surroundings. This typically affects their decisions and view but maybe not their personality. I’ve discussed this before on Japan and LGBT, but I’ll do it again.
Let’s say that even though Y/N is the gayest person to ever exist, they aren’t likely to be open about it in Japan. In my previously mentioned post, I talked about how gay relationships are still seen as taboo (it is decreasing slowly though) and usually fetishized. Trans individuals are even more likely to not be open about it. Wandering Son by Takako Shimura is one of my favorite mangas that talks about LGBT things but sadly it does make trans men feel slightly like a joke. It shows the language and shame forcing trans people to stay in the closet. From numerous articles I’ve read, the shame is decreasing but that doesn’t mean the struggle isn’t as bad as it has been. I believe the youngest person to have sterilization surgery (what must be completed to be seen as your gender to the Japanese government) was 20 years old. Also, there are very few places they can go to receive hormone replacement and gender therapy.
I’m focusing on Japan for this because it’s where anime takes place. I write male reader and I take this into account while writing. It affects how they interact with others and their thought process. Are they struggling with their identity? What is their family like? Even if their parents are accepting, are going to be open about it? How far are they willing to go to hide it?
Understanding the surroundings of your character affects who they are and how they respond to things. This also takes part in their internal struggles and maybe what the conflict of the story could be if focused on their identity.
Internal Struggle
Everyone has at least one internal struggle. Usually people have a lot more but in fiction you try to focus on one because real life doesn’t always transfer over in that regard. Struggles make your decisions though because you’re trying to deal with it. Characters are meant to feel like real people. My professor said that the goal is to write your character to where people will talk about them as if they’re a real person.
This can be difficult to do with Y/N but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. I always try to think of what is a struggle Y/N is going through that is either easily seen or never addressed. If I went through all of my one-shots, then I can tell you and explain why I did that. Does having a struggle mean that people see them as real people? No but at least there’s a chance they could. I really tried to make Y/N in my ficlet First Words more realistic but I don’t think I did the best job. It’s okay to not be perfect at it because it’s really hard to nail down original characters but reader characters are even harder.
It doesn’t matter how hard it is to make a character realistic because they do still need a struggle. There is character driven story and plot driven story; people prefer the first. An example would be Harry Potter or there’s also Forest Gump. We’re not focused so much on each plot point but what the character is doing during it. We love the character more than we love the story.
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sherlock s2 ep 1 livewatch
welcome to a new (cumber)batch of eps! i’m excited to see all the iconic moments in this one :D
i haven’t even played the dvd yet and it’s glorious :’)
ooh it starts with a ‘previously’!!!
JIM MOIARTY HIIII!!!! :D
moiarty is amazing (and this recap is so dramatic!)
OMG SHERLOCK NECK FRECKLE! :o
also seeing the old channel 8 logo in the corner is so cool! :D
HOLD UP why is bee gees playing
IS MOIARTY A BEE GEES FAN???
‘staying alive’ lol funny since he’s about to get shot :D
moiarty: “SAY THAT AGAIN!!!!!” say that again QUIETER MOIARTY GEEZ
and he just walks away!!!
shoe sherlock cool
sherlock 2 NOW
oh no it’s irene alder...
masterpiece INTRO YAAAASSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
me watching sherlock be like:
the masterpiece trust is just rich people cool
omg the viking river cruises spon is the same as today! :D
woah they’re playing a movie trailer! :o
it’s a british movie obviously and i’ve never heard of it OBVIOUSLY
the scottish host guy is talking and i love it :D
host: “his mind has more apps than an iphone” lol
“a series of his three most famous cases begins! are you ready?” HECK YEAH LET’S GOOOO!!!!!!
YAS the blog scene!
sherlock: “what are you typing?” john: “a blog... about us”
lady: “i think my husband is having an affair.” sherlock: “yes”
sherlock thinks cases are boring except
sherlock ‘cases don’t need titles’ holmes
WOAH SHERLOCK JUST TOLD A LITTLE GIRL THAT DEAD PEOPLE BURN :o
lestrade: “any ideas?” john: “eight so far” wowza :o
sherlock ‘don’t mention the unsolved cases’ holmes
glasseslock!!!!! :D
eyyyyyyyy ;D
people want pics of sherlock and john do johnlockers exist in this universe? :o
lol :D
irene is seductively putting her hand on lockie’s newspaper pic ewww :(
mrs. hudson hates the fridge
THUMBS IN THE FRIDGE FRIDGE THUMBS
mrs. hudson: “BOYS YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER ONE!!!’ *insert meme here*
ooh it spins into a flashback!
OMG JOHNLOCK VID CHAT!!!!
sherlock’s in the sheet! :o
*phone rings* sherlock: SHUT. UP!!!!” lol :D
john’s holding his laptop around lol :D
john: ‘there’s a mute button and i will use it” aka the 2020 president debates
woah some random guys are in lockie’s house and john needs a helicopter what’s up with that????
BUCKINGHAM PALACE YAAAASSS!!!!!!!
john looks under...
giggly!!!!!
♥
mycroft is the queen now
BOI LOCKIE’S LIKE ‘what for?’ TO PUT PANTS ON OMMGGGGGGG
john smol be like :o
guy: “mr holmes the younger”
LOCK BUTT LOCK BUTT NOOOOOOO
john be like o///o ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
o lockie’s’s in clothes again :/
mycroft doesn’t trust the secret service welcome to america
:(
i don’t like irene not because there’s apparently a thing between her and sherlock but because she’s a bit creepy!
THERE LIKE THAT!
sherlock: “photographs of whom?” ooh how fancy
sherlock: “laters!!” lol! :D
irene’s friend is named kate like channel 8 being called ‘kaet’! :D
fashionista! :o
yes this is ‘the right armor’ lockie
john: “you didn’t even change your clothes!” lol :D
sherlock: “go on punch me in the face” lol :D
watson: “i always hear ‘punch me in the face’ when you’re speaking in subtext” ...wut o_O
WORST BATTLE DRESS EVER NNNOPE IMMA HEAD OUT
are sherlock and irene being shipped because they were naked in the same up
irene: “i could cut myself slapping your face” louise belcher wants your number
bi john when he sees irene: o///o “...i’ve missed something haven’t i?”
sherlock isn’t affected by naked irene thus i headcanon him as aro/ace (or even demi/ace in john’s case like my own holmes character) thank you and good night
irene just sits her bare butt on the chair why
JOHN SISTER NANI???? :o
also this font is so basic WHY LOCKIE
irene: “somebody loves you” *glances at john* ok i like her a tad she gets it ;)
john: “put something on, please. like.. a napkin?” lol :D
irene’s like ‘why’ JUS LIKE SHERLOCK BUT I SHALL NOT SHIP THIS SHIP THE SHOW IS TRYING TO SHIP
also john giggles at naked sherlock and is like ‘plz no’ with naked irene (although i would be too that lady is OUT THERE)
ooh antiques roadshow! :D
also she’s dressed like lockie NO
irene: “brainy is the new sexy” plz no :(
she took her clothes off ‘to make an impression’ yep
WAIT they were just outside now they’re back in wut???
irene was born in the 80s cool :D
WOAH why are there more guy with guns?
and *le gasp* AN AMERICAN????
DON’T SHOOT JOHN AMERICAN!!!
ooh what was the code? :o
EPIC SLOW MO FIGHT YOOOOOO
DANNNNG IRENE JUS GUN SMACKED A GUY
sherlock just flipped a phone LIKE A FLIP PHONE OHHHH
irene is number 1 sherlock fan besides john confirmed
at first i thought it was a fandom phrase but it’s not! :o
WHY DID IRENE JUST PUNCH SHERLOCK
SHE’S WHIPPING HIM????
this reminds me of a certain sw ship... :(
yeah i don’t ship them AT ALLLLLL NOW
the key code is irene’s measurements DOES SHE MEAN...
the camera’s spinning FLASHBACK???
woah are they in the case?? this could be sherlock’s mind palace!
irene: “you got that just from one look? definitely the new sexy” NONONONONOO
outside bed
awww sweet bby ;)
did john tuck him in?
CRAP it was ireneeeeee >:(
the way she says ‘hush now it’s ok...’ is like count olaf in the hostile hospital when he drugs violet :o
LOCKIE’S FIRST WORDS WHEN WAKING UP WHERE JOHN awwww :D
OMG DID JOHN REALLY TUCK HIM IN awwww!!!!!!! ♥
lestrade filmed loopy sherlock lol :D
john: “ahhh back to bed!” awww :)
sherlock: “iiii’m fine i’m absolutely fine!!!’ drugged sherlock is a treasure ♥
sherlock: ”why would i need you?” john: “no reason at all” :)
ew was that an irene phone moan gross
DID SHERLOCK CHANGE HIS TEXT NOTIF TO THAT???
mrs. hudson: “family is all we have in the end, mycroft holmes!” mycroft: “oh shut up, mrs. hudson!” john: “my-“ sherlock: “MYCROFT!!!!” lol :D
mrs. hudson: “it’s a bit rude that noise isn’t it?” indeed!!
sherlock: “you can follow her on twitter” TWITTER IN THE HOLMESVERSE????
sherlock: “there’s more! much more” but wait... THERE’S MORE!
LOCKIE VIOLIN!!!!! :D
THE CHRISTMAS THING WASN’T A FAN MANIP HOLY YAS!!!!!!!! :D
cool sweater john!!! :D
:D
molly: ‘having christmas drinkies then?” wallace wants walkies thank you very much
john: “she’s off the booze!” sherlock: “nnnope” john: “shut up sherlock” lol
john to sherlock: ‘take a day off” lockie doesn’t know the concept mr doc
DID SHERLOCK NAME MOLLY CRY???? :o
HE KISSED HER????
sherlock still has the irene moan after all this time WHY
finding irene on christmas coolio :D
molly: “how did sherlock recognize her by... without her face?” ;)
sherlock smoking bad >:(
WOAH IS IRENE DEAD?????
VIOLIN YAS!!!! :D
smiley smiley :)
awww sherlock plucked a bit :)
OH CRAP IRENE’S BACC
john: “you flirted with sherlock holmes? “someone jellyyyy ;)
OOHH THIS IS THE IRENE JOHNLOCK SCEEENE!!!!!!! :D
irene: “you jealous?” john: “we’re not a couple!” irene: “yes you are.” ;)
john: “i’m not actually gay” irene: “well i am” IRENE LESBIAN GOOD!!!!
irene: “look at us both” (or perhaps bi like john could be...?)
biiiiiig door creak
UGH american... >:(
someone comfort mrs. hudson!! :(
sherlock: “take away your boys. it makes up for too much stupid in the room” he’s surrounded by idiots...
OMG SHERLOCK PEPPER SPRAYYY
awww he’s comforting mrs. hudson :)
john comfort! ♥
the guy’s tied up like the foody moody in bob’s burgers cool :D
awww mrs. hudson’s in shock :(
sherlock: “mrs. hudson leaving baker street? england would fall!” awww! :D
john says ‘alive’ like an irish guy :D
OMG IT’S NEW YEAR!!!!
happy violin new year! :D
sherlock’s xraying a phone lol
john said ‘in your bedroom’ BUT IT’S HIS AND SHERLOCK’S
and irene’s! :o
sherlock: “who wants to kill you?” irene: “killers” lol :D
sherlock said ‘the strand’!!!! :D
irene looks better without lipstick :)
the code is ‘i am SHERlocked’ HOW DO THEY NOT KNOW???
random john middle name reveal lol :D
FOR BABY NAMES NOOOO
john’s is hamish and eugene’s (from tangled) is hoarace... it’s the weird h middle name club! :D
sesame street time :D
...what in the world did sherlock just spout
john said ‘flight double o 7′ JAMES BOND REFERENCE????
MYCROFT IS SAYING ‘BOND ERE IS GO’ yep that’s bond!!!
sherlock didn’t notice john was gone for 2 hours lol :D
ooh sherlock says ‘second world war’ instead of ‘world war two’ :o
NONONONONNONONONONNOOOOOOOOO
sherlock: “that’s not the end of the world, that’s mrs. hudson” lol :D
mycroft: “that’s the deceased, always late” hey yeah :o
WOAH HE JUST CALLED SHERLOCK NAIVE AND IRENE A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS :o
oh hey irene
irene: “jim moiarty sends his love” ha ha funny love :D
WAIT MOIARTY CALLS SHERLOCK A VIRGIN??? :o
THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS NOOOOO
bada bing BADA BOOM!!!!!!!!!
wowza it’s been 6 months since they met???
sherlock: “sorry about dinner” *leaves* yesss :)
i’m glad they didn’t kiss and just held hands that was nice to make johnlock dreams fly :)
OMG IRENE LEGIT DIED THIS TIME BY BEHEADING!!!!! :o
john told sherlock she was in amurica good :)
lockie wants her camera phone aww :(
way better than any hand holding irene and sherlock did! ♥
awww irene texted sherlock goodbye :(
ew the irene moan one last time...
sherlock laughed and called her ‘a woman... the woman’ awww :)
that was a bittersweet ending! :)
aaaand it’s over!
next time... ;)
that was a great season premiere!!! irene was kind of cool (i like how she and sherlock were just friends) and the mystery was engaging as always. and of course... it was nice finally hearing lockie’s violin!! here’s to next time! :D
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silicon valley grand finale recap: 6.07
everything under the cut, complete with spoilers :)
okay alec berg
okay
okay
you won me over as i suspected and hoped and wanted you to but i dared not hope too much because of what a clusterfuck 6.06 was in my opinion
i had low expectations as a defence mechanism
but i’ve just watched this magnificent 45-minute farewell behemoth of an episode and you know what? FINE.
FINE
IT WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD and it’s good enough that i’m now slightly less mad about 6.06 because you know what OKAY the dumbass rushed-execution plotline about the AI — yeah okay now that the finale’s out, OKAY, YES, it was WORTH the russfest deus ex machina fucker to get THIS.
a really good finale that i’m. HAPPY WITH.
i FELT THE EMOTIONS when i was meant to feel them! it resonated! it was brilliant!
oh man
i don’t know if i have too much to say because i’m just quite happy with it and now that the whole thing’s over, i no longer have the suspense? but okay let’s see
so firstly i woke up to a DM from some fucker (someone i’d intermittently chatted SV with on instagram after they reached out to me; someone who, prior to this, i would not have called a fucker) and all i saw were the notifications reading something like ‘have you seen the episode’ and ‘heartbreaking’ and i swear to god i was fucking livid because, like, i recognise that that’s not a spoiler DETAIL about PLOT per se but i’m one of those freaks who, when i really like something, i don’t want to know fucking ANYTHING! including the emotional reaction anyone has to it because then!! then!!!! i fucking start thinking about what happened! it’s giving me some kind of information that i previously did not have and which i did not want to have because i DO NOT WANT my experience coloured by other people’s reviews! because they give away SOMETHING
(if you were doubting the veracity of me relating to richard the most out of the characters. behold this petty rage and tell me i’m wrong)
(also i KNOW it could’ve just been saying ‘the show’s over now and that’s heartbreaking’ but the point is I DON’T KNOW THAT RIGHT because you only get a truncated view in notifications and it’s not like i’m gonna open the fucking chat to CHECK if it’s ACTUALLY A SPOILER at the risk of viewing S P O I L E R S)
(they don’t call me the richard hendricks bitch for nothing, that moniker has a new dimension now)
yeah so i blocked this guy (and then sent him a technically polite and civil but otherwise really fucking pissy DM in response after i’d watched the episode) and then went about my day
i had a good day, which was good. gotta be in the right mood to consume the final installment of my favourite tv show ever.
i started watching.
documentary, huh? this is. INTERESTING.
and it becomes clear that something’s fucked up. even without instagram fucker’s comment, it is clear. given the fact that richard looks like a lonely soul in a retirement home at the beginning of the documentary, with all the colours/backdrop and the weighty comments of how ‘everything was fine’
and then there’s the party ... hurray ... richard in the cake! love it. sometime do some fic/art of richard popping out of a cake in a jarrich context lol
monica’s gift of the text messages! that’s really sweet and i loved it.
THE DOT. HOLY SHIT RICHARD YOU EAGLE-EYED MOTHER FUCKER
also u fuckin nerd with the ellipsis comment........... tbh i get it, i appreciate that joke
(oh jared. dutifully laughing at all his jokes. LITERALLY LIKE HOW SOMEONE WITH A CRUSH LAUGHS AT ALL THEIR CRUSH’S DUMBASS JOKES HHHHHHH)
I really enjoyed when jared mansplained and got bitten by monica lmao i just ............ i’m not fully able to articulate why i liked it but i REALLY ENJOYED IT hahah
GILFOYLE!! appearing with the lock the doors comment and cliff bars and a gun ...... oh boy i love him ;_;
i enjoy that they explicitly(ish) mention that gilfoyle’s an alcoholic lmao
also, dinfoyle shippers, gilfoyle passing out in the men’s room after a rendezvous with dinesh? huh? huh? -aggressively nudges and winks-
...anyway
i love that it’s the combination of richard’s obsessive meticulousness and gilfoyle’s hardcore work ethic and security-mindedness that reveal this fatal flaw with pied piper. it’s a nice collaboration of sorts and it speaks kind of to each person’s greatest strengths (diligence, thoroughness) (i mean we know richard’s other greatest strength is the talent of his coding and gilfoyle’s other greatest strength is also his brilliance and also his being smoking hot but y’know i didn’t say greatest strength at the exclusion of others...)
OH MAN
YES GILFOYLE you have a strong moral compass and want to kill the monster!
laurie being in prison .......................for no clearly defined reason.....and her hair’s still perfect..... yeah i’m here for it. also she does strike me as someone who’d do pretty much fine in prison lmao
i liked richard and jared’s rooftop conversation. i ..... i was annoyed with jared mentioning gwart because THAT WHOLE THING WITH GWART AND JARED LEAVING AND THEN COMING BACK AND THE I MISS YOU AND WHATEVER I DON’T CARE WHILE LITERALLY CRYING AND ALL OF THAT STILL FEELS LIKE AN ARC THEY STRAIGHT UP FORGOT TO CONTINUE/RESOLVE AND I’M STILL FUCKING MAD but aside from that i liked the conversation.
this whole series has been instance after instance of richard’s idealism and moral compass seeming to thwart his success because he refuses to do shitty things and instead chooses the harder but ultimately morally good path, and it’s ...... i love that this culminates in him making one of the most difficult/painful idealistic choices of all: let his dream of six years come to fruition and possibly (rather than certainly, at this point) ruin the whole fucking world, or kill his dream and really truly make the world a better place by SAVING THE FUCKIGN WORLD?
UGH YES *chef’s kiss*
love that jared’s agreeing with him/supporting him the whole time and you can fucking SEE richard calming down from his initial rage and seeing that, oh, okay, no, he has no choice, he Must kill the beast he has created...
and at that point screaming FUCK from the rooftop seems like a pretty sane response
love the cut to him in his i-mean-business blue hoodie (was it his blue hoodie? i can’t remember but i feel like it was?) being like ‘gilfoyle’s right’ lol
THE THING WITH DINESH’S CAR AND CRACKING TESLA’S ENCRYPTION
this was cool enough that i did not care about technological feasibility, Rule of Cool achieved
and dinesh’s speech about how he couldn’t be trusted! oh boy
like jared said, it was a magnificently courageous moment of cowardice. LOVE. IT.
(also i couldn’t help thinking, lol was this done as a response to kumail nanjiani’s schedule clashing with the others so they had to have all his scenes separate rom the rest of the cast? i mean either way they executed it stunningly)
oh BOY THE THING WITH GABE AND JOHN STAFFORD!!! and you know if gilfoyle had been friends with john stafford then maybe john would’ve fucking called gilfoyle and checked before fixing this shit!!
is this what they intended? i’m not sure. but it sure makes the gilfoyle chess subplot seem a lot less frustrating than the other going-nowhere-but-comedic-relief subplots that were in themselves fine but made me mad when i saw how rushed 6.6 was
gabe lmao
fuckin gabe
BUT GOOD ON GABE FOR LETTING DINESH KNOW JUST IN CASE!! THANK YOU GABE!!!
and OH BOY DINESH! YOU CAME THROUGH! YOU HAVE A GOOD CORE AFTER ALL! YOU COULD’VE DONE NOTHING AND BECOME RICH BUT YOU CLIMBED A SKYSCRAPER’S WORTH OF STAIRS AND SAVED THE FUCKING WORLD!
lmao i loved kumail nanjiani’s horrible wheezing as he opens the door and then despairs and then wheezes his way up the surprise additional stairs, i actually started laughing in my seat. brilliant physical comedy.
also loved gilfoyle’s ‘are you jacking off’ ‘did you do one push-up’ jibes lmao
brill
YES DINESH SAVED THE DAY!
AND GILFOYLE SAVED THE DAY! WHEN RICHARD (not entirely unreasonably) FUCKING FROZE AND GILFOYLE MADE AN EXECUTIVE DECISION AND TRUSTED DINESH AND IT PAID OFF! YESSSSS
oh and speaking of trusting dinesh. richard being like ‘dinesh you fucked us’ and then apologising and dinesh being all ‘you’re good, i’d think i fucked us too’ AHHH *chef’s kiss*
THE RATS? LMAO THE RATS? verging on maybe too ridiculous but I THINK I LIKED IT.
oh boy
CONAN
BILL GATES LOL
KARA SWISHER
PRESUMABLY MANY OTHER BRILLIANT GUEST STARS I MISSED
YES
oh man that convo on the roof! the only issue i had with that was jared being relegated to the seats behind them WHY ! WHY WAS THAT!!
ok i’m gonna headcanon it as like, they were gonna make room for him but he was like ‘OH NO NEVER MIND I’LL SIT BEHIND YOU, I LIKE BEING ABLE TO WATCH OVER YOU ALL’ ok there i fixed it. it’s plausible and i fixed it.
gilfoyle drinking entire bottles of tres commas? man he’s so hot and alcohol-soaked i’m astonished he hasn’t spontaneously combusted yet
THEY SAVED THE WORLD ;___;
MY BABIES SAVED THE WORLD
oh and now the present day................ (of the episode) ......
gavin as a trashy romance novelist and denpak as his long-suffering ghostwriter/collaborator? LOVE IT LMAO yeah sure why not!! and that scene when they’re arguing but then have this breakthrough about their novel in progress? AMAZING HAHAHAH i hope they’re happy together
RICHARD IS THE GAVIN BELSON PROFESSOR OF ETHICS WHAT THE FUCK
I MEAN OKAY FIRSTLY he is well-qualified to be an ethics in tech professor given his experience
BUT DOES IT NOT KILL HIM TO HAVE GAVIN BELSON IN HIS TITLE LMAO
maybe gavin made a hefty donation to stanford and bighead gave enough of that to richard that richard doesn’t mind
maybe at this point richard’s developed a good enough sense of humour to tolerate it because if he didn’t, he’d go fucking insane
he said he was happy .................... was he? i’ve no fucking idea tbh. what do you guys think? richard’s happy with a high-paying non-stressful job, or richard’s sad and despairing? ......i’m gonna go with the former. maybe wistful. maybe he’ll start another company one day. idek.
god when he said his best friend gave him a job ... for a second i thought it was jared. but oh well. OH WELL. OH WELLLLL.
LOVE that big head is president of stanford and it’s not addressed AT ALL how that happened and you know what? we had enough of him failing upward that we don’t need an explanation! this seems totally plausible! amazing.
and josh brener’s acting when they’re like ‘do they call you that because your surname is bighetti’ .......... amazing
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DINESH AND GILFOYLE STARTED A COMPANY TOGETHER AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH MY GOD
hey i just realised is NEWELL ROAD the place where the guy who bought dinesh’s laptop from the office clearance sale lived where gilfoyle turned up pretending to be geek squad to punch a hole in the laptop????!!
okay i just went back and checked and that’s not it. BUT newell road is the street the hacker hostel’s on!
which is fucking adorable and i love it.
ALSO
ALSO
ALSO
AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED THEY FUCKING MADE DINFOYLE CANON BECAUSE LOOK GILFOYLE SAYS THAT THING ABOUT DINESH BUYING THE HOUSE NEXT TO HIS BECAUSE HE LOVES HIM AND DINESH HAS NOTHING TO SAY BUT ‘FUCK YOU’ AND YOU KNOW WHAT
YEAH THEY DID IT
THEY STARTED A COMPANY TOGETHER AND GOT MARRIED
i swear to god when they said there was a meeting i just briefly imagined the ‘meeting’ was them sneaking off to a supply closet to fuck or something
YESSS
so we didn’t get jarrich but WE GOT THIS
okay whatevs i’ll take what i can get *blows coolly on nails*
jared working with the elderly! that thing about having parents and being someone’s parents! that’s so beautiful and makes so much sense it works somewhat as a salve to the darkly comedic but ultimately not really necessary punch to the gut that was the discovery about his biological parents.
judy reading one of gavin’s romance novels HAHAH YES
oh boy! the reunion!
i swear to god when richard and jared walked up to each other IT STILL FUCKING FELT LIKE THEY WERE GONNA KISS
everyone hugging!
GILFOYLE LOOKING TO THE CAMERA WHEN RICHARD AND JARED HUG
to me, that’s him being like ‘look at these two. ten years and they’ve not realised they’re in love yet’ hahahha
oh and Monica working for the NSA? yeah i can see it hahahah
jian-yang’s crazy jungle empire? yeah fuckin checks out
(RON’S PANIC WHEN RICHARD STARTS ADMITTING GUILT AND HE HAS TO BACKTRACK LMAO love the law jokes/references)
dinesh referring to gilfoyle’s horrible corner hahaha it’s so clear they fucking love each other they wouldn’t have fucking started a company if they didn’t also THEY LIVE NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER WHAT THE FUCK OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR THIS GIFT
at first i was like oh god did richard and jared not see each other for years??? but then there was that line about ‘i saw you last week’ and i’m so happy again. headcanon best friends (not to say that big head isn’t also a best friend of richard’s) and they catch up and love each other and then fall in love down the line (TIME TO WRITE A FIC LOL)
WHEN JARED HAD THE THING IN HIS BAG I GUESSED IT WAS THE ALWAYS BLUE THING AND WHEN IT CAME OUT I ACTUALLY PUT MY HAND OVER MY MOUTH AT ALL THE FEELINGS AND OH BOY OH BOY YESSSSS
<3333
richard losing the thumb drive. HA.
good. good setup
now the spinoff of sv is this apocalyptic hellhole because the thumb drive fell into the wrong hands and now pied piper have gathered to face/fight the apocalypse
i..... could write that fic. i could.
i imagine in that apocalypseverse jared has super surprisingly become a ruthless leader of a tribe, dinesh and gilfoyle are dual rulers obviously (or like, scavenger rebels on the fringes), monica has a terrifying tribe of followers or has made herself indispensable to another leader, richard is working as a tech slave for someone horrible (or is out in the woods after being stranded away from civilisation when the first attacks/clusterfucks occur) but then gets rescued by jared/the rest .............. yeah
OKAY ANYWAY
in short i really really liked it and i think the whole idea of them having to purposely fail to save the world from the terrible genius of what they’ve created is a fitting and deliciously bittersweet way to end this wild journey and i LOVE THIS WHOLE FUCKING SERIES and i don’t wish it had ended any other way
except for richard and jared kissing and sailing off into the sunset of course
#rain watches sv s6#silicon valley#sv spoilers#sv s6 spoilers#silicon valley spoilers#precipitation#my sv text posts
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Episode 33 Review: The Gentle Zombie
{ Not available on YouTube }
{ Synopses: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }
{ Screencaps }
And now, following our over-4,000-word-long sojourn into the eerie, isolated estate of San Rafael on Tuesday, we at last return to the even eerier and even more isolated locale of Maljardin, THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES’ Garden of Evil! *sting*
Once again, Colin Fox has the day off to recover from his spinal injury the year before, meaning we get another Foxless episode. Unlike some of the previous Foxless episodes, however, this one is a real treat. We get the first centered around the mysterious Quito, Jean Paul Desmond’s silent manservant, Raxl’s closest companion, and owner of the adorable Chalcko, mascot of this blog. We also finally get payoff for my least favorite Maljardin-era subplot, the saga of the Holly portrait--which, if you ask me, is long overdue--and it’s good.
The Lost Episode summary for this episode indicates that it was always intended to focus on Quito. As usual, the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides the most detailed and best summary (and I am not at all biased, despite living in Cleveland):
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer (October 24, 1969). The “Repeat” part is a misprint, as the episode only aired once on WKBF.
Interestingly, we already saw Quito give Holly the gift of a sparkling stone three episodes ago in the aired version of Episode 30. For whatever reason, the executives and/or Ian Martin himself decided to have this event occur earlier in the series’ timeline, possibly with its original importance to the overarching story decreased. The second sentence of this summary, however, remains accurate, as you will find in this review.
Quito kissing the cryonics capsule.
The episode begins with Quito visiting Erica Desmond's capsule and bringing more flowers for her. Both the way he kisses the capsule and the fact that Jean Paul doesn’t make him give Erica flowers show that he, like Raxl, truly loves her.
After leaving the crypt, he visits the Great Hall following a painting/bickering/recap scene between Tim and Holly, to stare at the portrait of Erica--or, rather, the roughest possible approximation of her appearance, because Jean Paul has done everything in his power to make Tim’s project as difficult and frustrating as possible for him (see also my post on Episode 24). A drum pounds for suspense, he turns to face the portrait, and, just as he reaches out to touch it,
HE COLLAPSES!
Fortunately, Alison and Dan come in from outside at just the right moment for her to check his pulse. She believes him dead at first because he has no heartbeat, but then hears him breathing despite him continuing to have no pulse. She concludes, much to pragmatic lawyer Dan’s shock, that Quito must be a zombie as he once said (this is another instance where I can’t recall which episode, unfortunately).
This is what the Holly portrait looks like now, by the way.
A close-up of the face. Still looks approximately halfway between Holly’s face and Erica’s in Tim’s original sketch of her.
They leave Holly and Tim alone with Quito while they go to the lab (in Alison’s case) and the crypt to search for the missing cyanide (in Dan’s), when they hear Holly scream! Dan, who was so close to making friends with Chalcko, bolts upstairs to find the mysterious servant previously thought to be dead (un-undead?) has once again come alive. He starts to pursue Holly, but Alison stops him, so he turns around and tears the cover off the Holly portrait. “Is it Holly, or my sister Erica?” she asks herself out loud. “I can’t tell!”
The rest of this scene suggests that perhaps Quito, too, can’t tell, or at least sees too much of Erica in Holly to ignore. Most likely, that’s why he’s drawn to her and waits on her as though he were her servant as well as that of Jean Paul and Erica. Dan attributes Quito’s fainting to the shock of seeing a portrait that so captures Erica’s likeness that the uncanny resemblance between her and Holly frightens him.
Two and a half months ago, Curt of the Maljardin Blog wrote that the production crew did not cast an actress to play Erica at the beginning of the show, as evidenced by their use of crew member Lara Cochrane to play Erica’s corpse in Episodes 1 and 4. But now I wonder, what if Ian Martin originally intended for Sylvia Feigel to play Erica as well as Holly, given his frequent mention of their alleged resemblance? It seems like an odd decision, especially because I believe that Sylvia was originally destined for a dual role as both Holly and the blonde girl whom Tarasca sacrificed in her nightmare. But, if Sylvia Feigel was supposed to portray the living Erica, would that mean that Erica’s past incarnation was not Jacques’ wife Huaco, but the sacrificed girl? It wouldn’t make sense for Erica’s past counterpart to be her instead of Huaco, unless he decided to also give Sylvia her role, which would have made her Huaco’s third actress. But this is all extremely unlikely, especially because such a quadruple role seems like far too much for a single arc of a live-action series. Even Dark Shadows didn’t make its actors play four roles in the same arc.
All right. Enough of a theory that I myself don’t completely believe, even if it is possible (if improbable) that Ian Martin intended it. Matt-- who, naturally, hurried down the steps when he heard his stalkee screaming--thinks that the reason why Quito fainted upon touching the portrait was because he "sees something of Erica Desmond in [Holly]." I believe there’s more to it than that, though. There must be something supernatural going on that made him faint, something like Erica’s ghost exerting her power over him. But they never did explain this bit, so--like most of this show--it’s up to interpretation.
Tim: “Quito, I thought you were dead!”
Quito touches the portrait and then his heart. “Only Raxl can tell what he’s trying to tell us,” Matt claims, but Alison, too, understands the message. Quito, whom Dan calls “a soulless man,” loves Holly.
This horrifies Holly even more than Matt’s affections. She shouts “NO!” and Quito retreats to the crypt. She throws a fit, disgusted by the thought of “a monster who lunges at people” wanting a romance with her, and even accuses him of pushing her down the staircase, even though Quito was in the temple at the time.
For the Serpent’s sake, Reverend Stalker, leave her alone! The last thing she needs is your “comfort” when we know that what you really want is to get in her pants!
Holly: “Drag, drag, drag, the Reverend Matthew Drag!”
I’m dying of laughter at this terrible line.
Dan suggests that, if Jean Paul can’t bring Erica back to life, he may decide to replace her with Holly. We know that Jean Paul would never do that, but that his ancestor Jacques almost certainly would--at least once he got bored with his lovely witch Elizabeth/Tarasca. (I’m still not convinced, though, that he doesn’t want to make her sacrifice Holly, either just for fun or so that she--and, after their marriage, he--can get her fortune.)
Tim begs to differ about the painting’s resemblance to Erica, once again lampshading the absurdity of the whole situation. You have an artist painting a portrait of a dead woman, using a living one as his model who may or may not resemble the show’s current image of Erica Desmond. He took on this commission to save his life, but, now that he is on Maljardin, he’s in more danger than he ever was while the Mafia was pursuing him. And now a zombie passes out, and the other characters blame it on Erica’s likeness to Holly, which Tim must know is a completely ridiculous explanation. I’m telling you, someone’s spirit--either Erica’s or Jacques’--made him collapse. And if it was the latter, most likely Jacques intended to kill him a second time.
Quito in the crypt.
I want to shift focus now to the subject of zombies and their portrayal on SP, as well as what we know of Quito’s past. This section will contain references to slavery and suicide, so, if those subjects trigger you, you may wish to skip ahead to the next section, beginning with another copy of the photo of Quito looking into Chalcko’s birdcage.
Before I got into SP, I was long predisposed to dislike zombies because of the clichéd way that most horror movies and shows depict them: namely, as mindless creatures focused solely on eating human brains. Hordes of walking corpses who go on living only to consume and destroy are a useful metaphor for the effects of things like consumerism and social media addiction, but they don’t make for interesting characters; in fact, they make for rather dull ones, in my (highly unpopular) opinion.
But Quito was shown from early on to be a very different kind of zombie, almost the opposite of the Dawn of the Dead type. We see hints as early as Episode 12 that he has thoughts and feelings and now we have confirmation that he even has the capacity for love. He appears mindless, soulless, and unfeeling to some other characters, but those who know him well like Raxl and Jean Paul know that, despite his silence and his undead state, he has a mind, a personality, and even a heart. It doesn’t hurt that Kurt Schiegl gives Quito a great deal of expression and personality through his body language; we may not know exactly what thoughts are going through Quito’s mind, but we can get an idea. (And he never once expresses an interest in eating brains, which is another plus.)
The reason why Quito is so different from most modern portrayals of zombies is because he is based on an earlier conception of who zombies are and how they are created. In the traditional beliefs of Haitian Vodou, a zombie is created when a Vodou sorcerer or bokor resurrects a corpse to serve as his personal slave. While there are many theories as to when these legends originated, the most likely theory (which Mike Mariani argues in The Atlantic) is that they began during the period of French colonialism. During this period, which stretched from 1625 to the Haitian Revolution at the turn of the 19th century, most of the population of the island of Hispaniola (then known as Sainte-Domingue) was enslaved on sugar plantations, which required back-breaking, often deadly labor. This, combined with the other indignities of slavery, drove many enslaved Africans living there to commit suicide in an effort to return to their home countries. The idea that those who ended their own lives would be stuck on Sainte-Domingue eternally as zombies came about as a way or Haitians to discourage suicide. “Death was better than slavery for many – the suicide rate among Haitian slaves was very high. It was bad to be a slave,” Amy Wilentz writes in her review of the Vice documentary I Walked with a Zombie. “Worse would be to die and discover that, rather than returning to Africa, you continued to be enslaved as a dead person, run by a master, doing his bidding – and this is the fear that created the ‘Americo-normative’ zombie, as we know him.”
According to Mariani’s article, zombies did not become associated with bokors until after Haiti won its independence and subsequently abolished the institution of slavery. He calls this “the post-colonialism zombie, the emblem of a nation haunted by the legacy of slavery and ever wary of its reinstitution...The zombies of the Haitian Voodoo religion were a more fractured representation of the anxieties of slavery, mixed as they were with occult trappings of sorcerers and necromancy.” Wilentz associates this with “the fear of re-enslavement,” for “no one wanted to be dead, consciousness-less, and working for free for a master,” especially in a country that had fought so hard to rid itself of its shackles.
The show canon for Strange Paradise has not given--and will not give--much information about Quito’s backstory. What we do know is that he is a native of somewhere near Maljardin, descended from an indigenous Central American culture related to the Aztecs, and that was alive during the same period as Raxl. He was Jacques’ “servant” (more likely a slave) in the 17th century and, at some point before Jacques’ death, became a zombie. We also know from his reaction to the Conjure Man’s name in Episode 13 that the Conjure Man did something to him at some point that traumatized him, which may or may not have included the spell.
The Paperback Library novel Island of Evil, however, gets far more detailed about Quito’s backstory and shows his transformation into one of the undead. In the novel, Jacques forces Raxl to relive a particularly painful memory from the 17th century in order to coerce her into doing his bidding in the then-present. In her memory, Raxl visits the pregnant and bedridden Huaco des Mondes during a dinner party, although Jacques has forbidden them from meeting with each other. When he catches her returning from Huaco’s room, Jacques gets revenge on Raxl by stabbing Quito (who is her husband in the books) and then forces an African Vodou priest whom he recently purchased to resurrect him for his guests’ entertainment.[1] It’s worth noting that, like the zombies of Haitian folklore, the Vodou priest tells Raxl not to allow Quito to consume salt: “Should he eat either [salt or meat],” he says, “he will know he is a dead man.”[2] Thus the book canon connects Quito both to the horrors of slavery in the colonial-era Caribbean and to early zombie folklore, before zombies became the brain-eating monsters they are usually portrayed as today.
Quito checking on his adorable bird. Curt recently mentioned the possible connection between Chalcko, Huaco (Jacques’ “pigeon”), and Erica (Raxl’s “little bird”) in a post on his Tumblr, which was a piece of possible symbolism that had never occurred to me until then.
Dan reveals to Matt that Jean Paul has a Stanford-Binet IQ of 187. I’m noting this only because I’ve referenced it before in regards to Jean Paul’s alleged intelligence juxtaposed with his tendency to make stupid decisions. He may have an IQ of 187, but that only applies to his book smarts, not to common sense decisions like the knowledge that you should never make a deal with the Devil unless you are absolutely certain that the Devil won’t screw you over, or that you can defeat him through loopholes or some other, similar means. Even the smartest people--even those with an IQ of 187--can be manipulated, and that is true of Jean Paul, whom THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES has successfully outsmarted. I wonder if he even suspects that Jacques has no intention on bringing Erica back to life, as he revealed fourteen episodes ago?
Holly talking to the cryonics capsule.
At the end of the episode, Holly visits the crypt to talk to Erica’s capsule. “ Mrs. Desmond,” she says, her hands on the capsule, “I want to say something to you. I don't know if you can hear or not, but I'm so afraid. I’m afraid of Quito, I’m afraid of my mother, and also of the Reverend. Mrs. Desmond, I’m so afraid somebody wants to kill me. But not your husband. I love him the way I love my father, but I'm so lost and so alone. Please help me...I want to know what it was that Quito and they saw in the picture.”
Quito catches her talking to the capsule and approaches her, his arms outstretched. “No, please!” Holly pleads, finally screaming and running from him, leaving the zombie with a heart alone in the crypt.
Upstairs, Holly calls for everyone to “see what you’ve done,” and the camera cuts to the portrait, which now bears a slash across the middle:
The end of the ill-fated saga of the Holly portrait.
“There is your spirit of love,” she cries, “or is it hate?” Alison, Matt, Dan, and Tim stare on, shocked and appalled by the slashed portrait and forever unaware of the identity of the culprit. The episode implies that the responsible party is Jacques Eloi des Mondes by showing a shot of his portrait glowing shortly before this scene, but this episode’s trivia on StrangeParadise.net indicates someone else. As with the trivia for Episode 30, it has to do with plot points that ultimately remained unexplained on the show, but nevertheless contains spoilers for the true nature of one character, so read at your own risk.
The first time since the pilot that Jacques’ portrait has glowed.
Coming up next: The characters react to the slashing of the portrait and we learn a telling bit of backstory about Elizabeth Marshall.
{ <- Previous: Episode 32 || Next: Episode 34 -> }
Notes
[1] Dorothy Daniels, Island of Evil (New York: Paperback Library, 1970), pp. 92-99. I will cover this book and the other two Paperback Library novels in more detail in a future series of posts.
[2] Ibid., p. 100.
#strange paradise#maljardin arc#ian martin#review#week 7#episode 33#foxless episodes#analysis#extra long corona edition#chalcko (quito's bird)#the damned holly portrait#historicalnote#iq of 187#maljardin blog#paperback library#17th century#speculation on ian martin's original story#unexplored plot point#unpopular opinions#zombies#my holly/erica/huaco/girl-sacrificed-by-tarasca theory may be my craziest one yet#the things i come up with when i should be sleeping
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Wynonna Earp 3x03 Colder Weather
Click here for previous recaps!
Stray thoughts
1) They’re doing a Dolls retrospective in the previously-on and oh God, it’s going to be one of those episodes, am I going to cry my heart out?
2) Wynonna is sad, drunk, and angry – a dangerous combination. Yep.
3) God, they even changed the music for this episode… They’re really going for emotional devastation, aren’t they?
4) So, the vampire lady that had Doc all tied up in the season opener is back. He called her Countessa, but then she begged him to say her name, and I wonder if this has some other meaning? Like, maybe she needs him to say her name for some spell or something? I don’t know. Anyway, apart from being a vampire, she moonlights as a seer. And she tells Doc that she’d seen a warrior would die – Dolls – and that he should give up trying to get with Wynonna because she loved Dolls, too, and he’d be forever competing with Dolls’ ghost. Ouch.
5) Really, dude?
6) Waverly and Nicole are having a very important conversation that everyone should have with their loved ones – what happens with my remains when I die? I’ve had this conversation several times with different people and they’re all very much aware of what I want to be done with my body, but I guess I’ll be dead and they can do whatever they want and I’ll never find out. Anyway, Nicole’s wish is to have a sky funeral, which sounds whimsical and cute but it’s actually pretty gross.
7) Uh-oh. Waverly has just found out that her father – well, not her father-father, you know what I mean – had only made arrangements for her mother’s and Wynonna’s burials, not hers… and that’s so unnecessarily cruel? Did they adopt her or were they charged with her? I really need to find out what’s the whole story about Waverly and the Earps!
8) Wynonna is in denial. She continues binge-drinking and shooting Peacemaker, but she’s not finding any peace. It’s Doc who can finally comfort her and convince her to pay their respects to Dolls. They actually comfort each other…
9) Who dis?
10) Waverly is kind of freaking out, saying she’s hungry and how that reminds her that Dolls will never eat again and then she starts laughing (her little breakdown reminded me a bit of Anya’s in The Body…) and Doc then smashes a glass against the wall (kind of like what Xander did in The Body…) They’re preparing a wake for Dolls at Shorty’s, which I guess we’ll end up being more like a sad party with everyone getting drunk and shots being fired because nothing can go right in Purgatory, not even a wake.
11) So, I took an instant liking to Star Hand guy for some reason, and thankfully, he seems to be Dolls’ friend. Doc is demanding evidence, as he should. Question is, how did he find out Dolls was dead? Is he a Black Badge agent, too? Did he come here to say his goodbyes or is he going to be a mainstay? And with this I’m reminded of…
12) Hmm. I have some questions…
NICOLE: My parents were travelling again and they told me I could go to this music festival with my aunt and uncle. Here.
WAVERLY: In the Ghost River Triangle?
NICOLE: There was an attack. A man in leather. So much screaming and blood.
WAVERLY: The demon Dolls killed at the cliff? Bondage Bob?
NICOLE: For years, my parents just told me that everybody died in a forest fire and that I had... I had somehow escaped, but... you know, it just didn't explain the nightmares.
WAVERLY: Yeah, I've... I've heard them.
NICOLE: Last spring, when... Widow Mercedes said his name... Bulshar... it was like this shotgun went off in my head. And Dolls helped me. He got me files, he... he told me that... Black Badge had been covering up these massacres for years. The Cult of Bulshar.
I’m not sure I’m on board with this backstory they gave Nicole literally out of nowhere? And the same demon that committed this massacre is the guy Dolls killed on the hill? The one Waverly names “Bondage Bob”? I just… I don’t totally buy it. I know it could be completely possible for her to have suppressed these memories because of trauma, but… it all feels a bit thrown together at the last minute? Why couldn’t she just be a human, a kickass human but a human nonetheless? Why does she also need a supernatural and traumatizing backstory? I don’t know, I’m still a bit iffy about the whole thing.
13) Will this turn into a supernatural version of “P.S. I Love You”?
14) Obviously, Dolls knew he was going to die, hence the ominous letter. Wynonna takes it out on Jeremy because he knew and he was trying to help Dolls but he didn’t say anything to anyone else, trying to respect Dolls’ wishes. Wynonna feels betrayed, but I don’t really get why? First of all, all of them know they can die at any time, that’s part of the gig, right? So yeah, Dolls being aware of his own mortality shouldn’t be that surprising considering his line of work. Second of all, they all witnessed that this dragon-power was taking a toll on him, didn’t they? Am I crazy? So yeah, Wynonna might have pretended it wasn’t an issue, but she knew, they all knew… I guess it’s easy when you’re mourning someone’s death to have someone to blame, but Jeremy hardly deserves it.
15) So, Quinn, Xavier’s friend, is all chummy with Doc and I’m here for it. Wynonna asks Doc if he knew Dolls was dying, and Quinn is like “duh! Of course, he was!”, which was exactly my reaction. Wynonna is not an idiot, so she had to be in complete denial not to see that he was dying. Anyway, apparently, he was also Black Badge.
16) Oh, great. The fucking revenants stole all the serum Doc had concocted for Dolls and are streamlining it. This should end well.
17) So, Jeremy placed a coded message for Dolls’ friends to come to his funeral. See? How can you be angry at Jeremy?
18) Wynonna wonders why Dolls didn’t attempt to do anything to get better, and the answer is blatantly obvious for both Quinn and Doc – because of her. I’m guessing she’ll take this information to further flagellate herself over Dolls’ death.
19) The vampire lady, Katalin, stole Waverly’s purse, for some reason, maybe she’s a klepto or something, but she didn’t use any of her vampire powers to do it? Like, she just grabbed and took off, awkwardly running in her heels? Kind of disappointing, but also super hilarious.
20) Ay…
21) Waverly enlists Doc to help her get Dolls’ letter back, and they sneak out all secretive, but… it’s a wake with literally 5 freaking guests… I think the three people left will eventually notice they’re gone?
22) “Why torture yourself? I don’t.” HA! Yeah, right!
23) Quinn suggests that Black Badge is not really gone – well, duh – and that they might come to retrieve what’s left of Dolls…
24) Yep. A bunch of jacked-up revenants have just crashed the party. Coolio.
That’s alright, Wynonna’s got it.
25) I do appreciate a good early 00s callback…
26) WTF
27) OMG, Waverly trying to lose it and turn the table but realizing it’s too heavy and then just throwing the cards on the floor and giving a little shout? *chef’s kiss*
28) Oh, shit, Katalin now knows what Waverly is?! What is she???
29) Aw, Nicole just set Wynonna straight, told her that everyone is grieving Dolls just as much as she is and that she should go apologize to Jeremy. I do really love their quiet yet strong bond.
30) Quinn is fucking torturing Jeremy with a goddamn stapler and why does everyone keep treating Jeremy like crap? Quinn wants to get Jeremy’s drugs to become a dragon and storm BB headquarters. Wynonna gets through to him by admitting that she is also haunted by the ghosts of the people she lost, but their best revenge is to go on living. Be brave. Live. For me.
31) Ouch, I didn’t know that something as small as Wynonna giving Quinn Dolls’ badge would hurt like a bitch, but it did.
32) Damn, damn, damn.
That whole scene simply destroyed me. Wynonna finally decided to cremate Dolls’ body to prevent BB from coming after it to continue experimenting on him. And then they bury him, each of them placing a personal item that symbolizes their relationship to Dolls. It fucking devastated me.
33) Waverly asks Wynonna what her plans are for when she passes, casually mentioning that she doesn’t have a spot on the Earp’s burial site. Wynonna doesn’t make a big deal of it, and instead, tells Waverly that they will live for about another 80 years and then, they’ll be buried together at the homestead. That’s all the reassurance Waverly needs. She might not be an Earp, but she’s Wynonna’s sister, and that’s all that matters.
34) Damn, Dolls.
35) Does Katalin spend the whole day playing with her Tarot cards? #quarantinemood
So… she admits that she only stole Waverly’s purse to get Doc’s attention. They have a short conversation about the days of yore and then…
Damn Doc, he can’t just keep it in his pants, can he?
36) That was an emotional rollercoaster of an episode. Dolls wasn’t one of the characters I loved the most, but I understand how important he was to the narrative and to each of the characters, so I’m glad to see he got a proper send-off. I really hate it when shows gloss over the aftermath of a main character’s death and skip forward all the grieving and uncomfortableness of mourning. That being said, this being a supernatural show and all, I’m skeptical that this was the last we’ll see of Dolls. Anything can happen, right?
37) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi. Thanks!
#Wynonna Earp#Xavier Dolls#Doc Holliday#Waverly Earp#Nicole Haught#Wynonna Earp 3x03#WE 3x03#WE recap#recap#mine
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Back to the Start (Thomas’s Journal)
*This is technically Faux Pas Part Seven, but it’s more of a standalone story
Part One: Long Distance Part Five
Part Two: (Not so) Long Distance
Part Three: Emphatically, No
Part Four: L.A. Baby (Where Dreams are Made of to be broken)
Part Five: (I’m Sorry I Can’t Be) Perfect
Part Six: I’d Do Anything
* * * The Art of Loving Thomas Hunt Fan Fiction Masterlist * * *
– – –
Characters: Alex (MC), Thomas Hunt
Mentioned Characters: Marianne Delacroix, Bianca Stone, Matt Rodriguez, Chris Winters
Setting: This takes place between Red Carpet Diaries Book 2 and 3 (Red Carpet Diaries 2.5). However, the majority of the content recaps RCD Books 1 and 2 from Thomas POV. In my fanfiction writing, this takes place immediately after Faux Pas Part 6. Previously, Bianca Stone shared part of Thomas’s private journal about his feelings about Marianne Delacroix. Thomas also agreed to model for Faux Pas with Alex for Addison’s photoshoot despite not initially wanting to.
Rating: PG-13
– – –
Thomas sat down beside Alex on the couch, wrapping his arm around her. Alex let him pull her into his chest.
“Thank you again,” Alex lifted her head to place a kiss on his lips.
“It was my pleasure,” Thomas kissed her again.
“Can we put all of this behind us?” Alex suggested.
“Agreed. However, before we do...” Thomas began hesitantly. He took a deep breath. “Since Miss Stone was kind enough to share what I had written about Marianne, I thought perhaps you might want to see what I’ve written about you.”
Thomas held out a black journal. It had several pages flagged.
“Thomas, you don’t have to,” Alex offered.
“I want to,” Thomas insisted, putting the journal in Alex’s hands.
Alex leaned into Thomas’s arms and opened to the first flagged page.
[Hello, Hollywood]
Today, I went to another insipid Hollywood party. The meaningless blather of conversations at these affairs is irritating. Finding someone to have an actual conversation with proved impossible. Perhaps the most interesting thing of note was a party crasher. I commend her risk to network–she seemed to handle herself with unexpected grace. Unfortunately for her, this town is filled with other naive, beautiful Hollywood hopefuls.
[The Big Premiere]
Rarely am I stirred by current Hollywood indie films, tonight I witnessed a rare break in the drivel of underwhelming attempts at true art. Tender Nothings was not terrible. That is to say, it was quite good. The film owes its success to a newcomer, Alex Spencer. I was pleasantly surprised by not only her raw talent but her charm and decorum. I had the privilege of speaking with her at Matt Rodriguez’s party. Alex has mastered the Hollywood charm offensive, even if she insists she is just being honest. I hope to work with her in the future. I find her talent magnetizing. I’m drawn to her and I’m not sure why that is. She’s like a lightning bolt–she’s completely compelling.
[Leveling Up]
I do not believe in fate, and yet, it seems Alex and I continue to cross paths when I least expect it. A potential client failed to show up despite insisting we meet at this abhorrent excuse for a public venue. Forget the music, they used bagged ice; how artless? As I thought the night was a total loss, I found Alex in the cacophony of sounds and lights. She continues to bewilder me. She willingly left her friends and the party at hand to accompany me to Noir Bar. Alex talks with maturity and dignity beyond her years; and yet, she has a way of–how do I put it–teasing me in a manner to which I am not accustomed. I offered Alex the part of the Duchess; unfortunately, she is attached to another film. This, of course, is disappointing; however, that is not to say the evening was disappointing. I quite enjoyed myself.
[Fired-storm + Take Two]
The Last Duchess has been stuck in a state of uncertainty for a few weeks now. I have not found anyone who could portray Frances with all the nuances the performance requires. It is with conflicting emotions that I finally have my Duchess. I somehow found my way to Alex again. I was pleased by her enthusiasm and interest in the role, although I abhor the reason for which she was let go from her prior engagement. Even sitting across from here, I felt fire run through my veins as she told me what Viktor tried to do to her. I knew he was vile, but this was different. I had never felt so much hatred before; even with everything that happened between Viktor and me.
As I sat with Alex and saw the light of passion in her eyes, I knew it was fate. I finally realized why I couldn’t cast the Duchess. It was always Alex. She is everything I admire in Frances. I know she will bring undeniable life to the role. Nevertheless, Alex is also dangerous. I’m drawn to her in a way I haven’t been in a long time. I almost kissed her. I wanted to. But after Viktor, I can’t. I will protect her, even if that means from myself.
I gave Alex a day to think about my offer before returning for her reply. I did need her answer readily, but the truth is, I couldn’t stay away from her.
[The Underdogs]
Today was the first day of production for The Last Duchess. I wanted to film a few test scenes to provide potential producers and investors in hopes of securing funding. Alex and Chris were impeccable even on their first attempt. I hope the investor we are meeting with tomorrow sees the potential of this film.
As the title character of the film, it was natural to ask Alex to accompany me on the trip to San Franciso. I expected that eventually, I would discover something about Alex that would help quell the distraction she has become to me. The trip had an adverse effect. Alex continues to demonstrate she is a capable woman in all regards. I took her to a few of my favorite places. She genuinely appreciated them all. When I showed her all of San Francisco from Twin Peaks, she asked where I lived. Maybe it was the memories that filled my head when she asked about my former house, but I was pulled toward her. I didn’t want to stop. The way she looked in the moonlight. She was exquisite. Her hand on my jaw was electric. I could feel it radiate through my whole body. It was just the shock I needed to remind me of everything I could lose if I had let myself continue.
[I'll Take The High Road]
Production of the Last Duchess headed to Cordonia. Alex continued to overwhelm my thoughts. I offered her an extra seat on the plane. If she had brought someone else, then I could let the thought of her go. I want her to be happy, even if that is with someone else. Regardless, she declined. I smiled when she turned down the offer.
On the set Chris–for all his talents–had difficulty today exuding the right mix of restrained desire and infinite decorum the scene required. I offered to demonstrate what I was looking for. I have done this countless times on prior films, and yet, this time it was different. I ran the scene with Alex– the anticipation and intensity were palpable. I am hopelessly at her mercy.
[Happily Ever After...Right?]
The Last Duchess was complete and yet, I felt compelled to head to the studio to attempt to make it even better. As if I were not distracted enough by the mere thought of Alex, fate decided yet again to test my resolve in acting on my desires for her. Alex drives me to distraction. She challenges me. I confessed my desire for her. Remarkably, she felt the same way. When we kissed, I felt contended. My thoughts were quiet for the first time in months. I relinquished my future to her, should she feel the same way as I.
The wrap party for The Last Duchess was an overwhelming success. The film received much praise and yet for the first time, the acclaim was distant. As to be expected by now, Alex captured my whole attention. She chose me. I might never understand why, but I will never stop trying to make her happy.
Apparently, Alex is a distraction I’m supposed to have. I can’t fight it anymore. I won’t.
As Alex continued flipping through the other entries, tears cascaded down her cheeks and flowed across her smile. She had not thought it possible to be more in love with Thomas than she already was, but she was wrong.
“I can’t believe...” Alex’s words got caught in her throat. She shifted until her lips were hovering over Thomas’s. “I love you, Thomas Hunt, more than I have ever loved anyone.”
“As do I, my Alex,” Thomas admitted.
Alex pressed her lips against Thomas’s. Alex kissed him long and slow. Thomas responded by pulling Alex further on top of him until she was straddling his lap. He ran his hands down her back and lower, eventually settling his hands in the back pocket of her pants. Alex smiled against his lips as Thomas squeezed her. His touch caused her body to quiver pleasantly in response.
Alex pulled away for a moment to catch her breath. “I noticed you did not include any specific details about the wrap party. Perhaps you need a refresher of the highlights from the evening?”
Thomas cupped his hands around Alex’s face. “How did that scene go again?" he teased.
Alex traced a finger up his arm. Her touch still sent shivers through his body; she smiled lightly. "I believe it started with desire," Alex whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
Thomas wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. Alex wrapped her legs around him. They passionately kissed their way over to a table in the corner. It wasn't a desk, but it would do. Thomas and Alex kissed fiercely as they let their memories of that first night overcome them.
----
Thomas Tags: (Let me know if you would like to be included :))
@hopelessromantic1352; @alleksa16 ; @mfackenthal ; @alj4890 ; @the-soot-sprite ; @twin-skltns ; @pb-boeboe ; @lilyofchoices ; @flyawayboo
#thomas hunt#thomas hunt x mc#professor hunt#red carpet diaries#hollywood u#choices#hwu#fan fiction#thomas hunt fan fiction#red carpet diaries 2#red carpet diaries 2.5#rcd 2.5#choices rcd#thomas x alex#alex x thomas#halex#faux pas#choices fan fiction#alex spencer#alex hunt#the art of loving thomas hunt#taolth#thomas orson hunt#i love this man so much
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We all knew this was going to be a disaster, right? We didn’t know how, but I mean, we knew. We were ready.
We were not disappointed.
Harvey, on the phone with Donna, enters his apartment with an indignant exclamation that he can’t believe she’s not coming over tonight, after he went to all the trouble of getting pizza with “those stupid yellow tomatoes” she likes. She really can't, though, because she has plans with an old friend who called her at the last minute out of the blue; he asks her instead to come over later because, though it’s not something he advertises, he watches Survivor and was hoping to get her into it. (First Oprah, now Survivor; I could've sworn Harvey’s media tastes tended more towards the classics.) She takes a rain check, he asks who this “old friend” is, and wouldn’t you know it, here’s Mike Ross.
“Survivor? What are you, a thousand?”
(Given this show’s trans-dimensional timeline, that actually wouldn’t surprise me.)
Okay, real talk. Considering the amount of promotion this show and USA Network did to brag that Mike was coming back, it’s incredibly unlikely that anyone in the viewing public was surprised by the “big reveal” (which also explains why they got it out of the way in the first thirty seconds), but…they could’ve tried. At least a little.
Harvey rounds the corner into his kitchen area thing and finds Mike, leaning against the counter as he delivers his opening salvo, and this is where it starts getting weird. (Yes, already.) Mike is settled in like he belongs there, fine, but Harvey, even though he’s smiling, kind of, doesn’t seem remotely surprised to see him. He doesn’t even respond to Mike directly, instead telling Donna: “I get it. The plans weren’t for you, they were for me.” She tells him to have a great time, he hangs up, and right away we’re into some old-fashioned banter.
Minor detour for the first hint that Korsh is going out of his way to replace Marvey with Darvey: Harvey and Mike haven’t seen each other in over a year. Mike appears suddenly, without warning, in Harvey’s apartment, and opens with a joke, dropping them right back into their usual patterns without missing a beat. I’m not expecting Harvey to start screaming and jumping up and down, but you remember how big and bright his smile was when Mike got into the bar? This is like, a third of that, at best. One option that might’ve been better than “The plans weren’t for you, they were for me” might be, I dunno, “Sorry Donna, I have to go. An old friend just showed up out of the blue.” Instead he treats Mike like he’s been expecting him, tidying things up with Donna before he can be bothered to respond to what I assume is actually a huge surprise. I’m starting to think all the promotional buildup might've been a mistake, because this is even more underwhelming than I ever thought possible.
And that’s just on the emotive level; let’s talk about the dialogue.
“You know, just because she gave you a key doesn’t mean you’re staying here.”
Harvey, to Mike, “Tricks of the Trade” (s01e06): “Remind me to have Donna get you a spare key.” Mike’s had a key to Harvey’s place since forever, this isn’t news. (And let’s not forget the metaphorical connotations of Mike having a “key” to Harvey’s home, and the fact that their lives are no longer intrinsically intertwined, i.e., he’s here but he’s not staying. They’re definitely there. Even if it’s by accident.)
“Why would I stay here? I’ve got my old apartment that you’re pretending to rent for me. ‘Rick Sorkin’? You’ve gone soft.”
How does Mike know about that? Has he known for awhile and not brought it up for some reason, or did Donna tell him about it an hour ago? Second hint of Darvey replacing Marvey, tied right back to the first time they pulled this shit in “Everything’s Changed” (s09e01): Harvey used the name “Rick Sorkin,” the Harvard grad who Mike impersonated in the pilot, to maintain a connection to Mike, and he might’ve treated it like a touching callback joke when he told Donna about it, but it’s actually pretty sad. Don’t forget, he came up with the idea about a year before he and Donna got together, so for all that time it was just a little thing that he had all to himself to keep Mike close by in any way he could. Point being, if anyone was going to tell Mike about it, it should've been Harvey, but Donna, the new most important person in Harvey’s life, evidently needs to be wedged into every facet of his business, no matter who else was there first.
“I was using it as a tax shelter.”
Wait, I’m confused. Was Mike supposedly making money off this rental or not? Has Harvey been sending him “rent checks”? Do they have a joint account where Harvey’s been making deposits? Did Mike just give Harvey the apartment? Did Harvey take out a mortgage for some reason?
“And what’s the name of that tax shelter? ‘I’m a Softie’?”
“Maybe I’ve always been a softie.”
What the fuck is happening right now?
“What happened to uh, ‘Caring makes you weak’?”
“I think you’re confusing ‘caring’ with ‘moving to Seattle.’”
So…moving to Seattle makes Mike weak. And Mike just smiles and nods over this one (seriously, his expression is the nonverbal equivalent of saying, “You got me there”), so does that mean he agrees that moving to Seattle was weak? (It was definitely a weak plot point, but I don’t think they’re that self-aware.)
“Speaking of Seattle, don’t you have some old ladies looking to sue the condo association, or whatever big case you’ve got going on these days?”
He takes class actions against Fortune 500s, that would have to be one hell of a condo association.
“Yes I do, but those old ladies are gonna have to wait, because I always have time for an old friend. It’s good to see you, Harvey.”
“Great to see you, Mike.”
“Is that Gionno’s?”
“It is. You like yellow tomatoes?”
I hate this hug. I hate it so much. I was suspicious when I saw it in the promos, but at least then I could hold out hope for a real hug before the end of the episode, something à la the attempted-handshake-cum-goodbye-hug in “Faith” (s05e10) or the other attempted-handshake-cum-goodbye-embrace in “Goodbye” (s07e16). But no. This is it. This is all we get. The most performative bro-hug (complete with patronizing back patting) I could possibly imagine between two dudes who literally tried to go to prison for each other. Mike doesn’t even take two seconds to savor the moment before he’s asking about dinner! He seems so disinterested and distracted, I had to watch this scene three times to be sure he wasn’t using the hug as an excuse to get a better view of the pizza box. (He isn’t, but only just.)
I don’t know if anyone gives a shit, but the big secondary plot of this episode is that Sheila has some totally legitimate but previously unaired anxieties about balancing her job with motherhood and because no one on this show knows how to use their words, she expresses these fears by yelling at Louis for not understanding this thing she’s never tried to explain to him. Oh also they’re sexually roleplaying Cinderella with some $9000 glass slippers, and Sheila spent a whole meeting at work calling some major donor by the wrong name (and he didn’t correct her…why?) so he pulled his $50,000 donation and she feels like a failure.
Back to the prodigal son for an abbreviated rundown of the Journey of Darvey: “Let me get this straight: I tell Donna to kiss you, she does, and then, as a result, you ask another woman to move in with you.” No he absolutely fucking did not tell her that; he said, and I quote, “Tell Harvey how you feel” (s07e10). Because that’s, you know. Not sexual harassment. (Also he was there for that, why did Harvey just recap it for him? I know why, because Korsh assumes the audience has been zoned out for awhile now, but still, that's so narratively inconsistent. Well, I suppose that's their brand, I can't blame them for leaning into it.)
Anyway Harvey says “it was a complicated situation,” and Mike shoehorns in another summary (“Must have been, because then Donna starts dating a client, breaks privilege for him, and then you two end up together”) that makes me think Korsh is expecting to bring back a lot of viewers for this episode who bailed on the first four; joke’s on him, this episode actually pulled the second-lowest number of viewers so far this season (0.96M). Harvey dismisses this unnecessary recap with the point that they discussed all of this on the phone “like a month ago,” and SINCE FUCKING WHEN? They can’t just casually drop in that Harvey and Mike have been talking on the phone when every other instance of them on the phone for the past two seasons has been Harvey leaving depressing messages on Mike’s voicemail. That is not fair, they’re ruining my melancholia.
Harvey reasonably points out that Mike didn’t come all the way to New York for no reason, Mike says he’s there on business, and Harvey makes an odd choice with his rejoinder: “The business of begging for your old job back? Because it’s too late. We’ve replaced you.” Now, I’ll freely admit to having read and written so much fanfiction that at first viewing, I thought I remembered Harvey telling Mike, at some point or another, that he’s irreplaceable (he did not), but this is still a weird (and somewhat bitter) direction for him to take the conversation. The fact that he mentions Mike coming back to the firm at all reads to me like a not-so-subtle admission that he misses him (which we already knew from all the times Harvey said he misses him, s08e01-04), but to immediately say not that the firm isn’t hiring, but specifically that Mike has been replaced, is just mean. Like, on a personal level, that is…not nice. Mike takes it as a joke (as I’m sure it was intended) and they have a little more banter, and it’s nice and nostalgic and all, but the content is pretty weak; particularly Mike’s line that if Harvey had Mike’s memory, he wouldn’t forget things like checking to see if Mike’s replacement has a law degree, makes feels like I’m being beaten over the head with reminders of what was fun about this show back in the day while simultaneously being cajoled into sticking with it until the end.
Mike divulges that “the asshole [he’s] going up against” is “Harvey Sphincter. He plays it real tight,” and I would pay good money for Harvey to retort, “You would know,” but no such luck. Mike represents Jeremy Wall, a professional basketball player who wants out of his contract with Brick Street Athletics, that client Harvey gave to Samantha as a gesture of goodwill back in “Everything’s Changed,” and now I understand why I had no hope of correctly guessing what would be the plot of this episode: This suit has nothing to do with Mike’s firm. There are currently only seven apparel companies on the Fortune 500 list and of those seven, only one, Nike, is a major sponsor of professional athletes, so the odds that this is a Fortune 500 case are insanely low; aside from that, this suit is so far from a class action that I don’t know how it even came across Mike’s desk to begin with. But it did, and he’s here, and Harvey correctly deduces that Mike’s main goal isn’t to convince Brick Street to let Jeremy out of his contract, but to challenge Harvey, and. We’ll get to that in a bit.
Before we move on, though, because I’m me, I have to mention that when Mike kicks off the suit with an accusation of breach of contract, Harvey proposes holding a deposition the next day, and that is not how that works. Even if Mike and Jeremy have been secretly preparing for the possibility of a deposition for months, Mike can’t just spring on his client that, surprise! You’re testifying to opposing counsel tomorrow afternoon! Plus Brick Street Athletics might be Harvey’s client—or, might have been, I guess, since now they’re Samantha’s, but anyway, regardless of how well he knows their business model, he isn’t ready to go into a deposition for a suit against them totally off the cuff; he needs time to prepare, and the fact that he is the one who suggests having the deposition tomorrow is absolutely insane.
Ready for a subplot roundup?
Louis asks Alex, who has two kids and thus “survived two pregnancies with Rosalie” (real nice), for help in not upsetting Sheila; Alex tells him to listen to her and do nothing, Louis thanks him, and we all, including Alex, know that Louis is definitely not going to do that.
Wanting to repay Katrina for protecting her vote with the code of conduct thing, Donna decides the best way to do this is to peer pressure her into calling Brian because she hasn’t picked a new associate (what happened to Susan?) and she hasn’t seemed herself lately (she’s been one of the most in-character characters so far this season). Katrina says she’s fine, which in Suits-land is basically the same as admitting that she isn’t, and Donna says she’s here if Katrina wants to talk.
Rather than do nothing, Louis goes to Benjamin, who is still pissed about the whole hack-into-the-NYSBA-and-then-get-fired thing, but Louis brought bacon (nice callback), he says he’s sorry, and also he’s willing to put up $50K of his own money to make Sheila feel better about herself, so Benjamin agrees to give him a hand in order to “run a proxy through a financial institution to create the appearance of an anonymous donation from a tax sheltered company,” which is the most romantic thing Benjamin has ever heard in his life.
Okay, cool.
Part II
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