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anxiety-trademark · 3 years

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The week in review:

Raw 11/30 NXT 12/02 NXT UK 12/03 Smackdown 12/04 Takeover War Games 12/06 + Main Event 12/03

Raw:

...Yeah hi, what the fuck is with the doll trapped inside of the table? Is that a metaphor for Alexa??

I’m so happy for her being able to have segments with Orton. Good for her.

Alexa’s like a mere inch taller than me so she’s a nice gauge as to to how tall the men’s roster is in comparison, and Randy? Fucking tall.

So the writing was on the wall; Fiend cares about Alexa (whether the nature is abusive is irrelevant to this point) and Randy has figured out how to use Alexa as a pawn to manipulate Fiend. I was kind of hoping Fiend/Alexa were in control of the gameboard, but it seems I’ve been duped.

The only complaint I have about this is how... compliant and helpless Alexa was in this segment. She’s not only been possessed/traumatized into caring about Fiend, but furthermore she does care about him, so why wouldn’t she be fighting against Randy when she was in his arms? The writing of her character in this particular segment seemed shallow. I know she can play whatever emotion they want from her, so to not ask for any emotions at all is curious.

Also the only person who isn’t a heel here is Alexa, and I won’t really hear any argument on the manner. Fiend is a predator at best. Orton is a psychotic douchebag.

My head hurts. Imagine Becky being stuck in a tag team with Lana rather than throwing a huge fit about not being able to defend her title for fucking months.

“Sarah you wouldn’t understand, but Shayna and I are about to-- *starts smiling like a fucking idiot*” Wow I want to defend wwe’s incessant need for giving Lana a storyline but I’m so fucking tired of abysmal promos. God. I. Miss. Becky. WHY is the Raw women’s champion wrapped up in this??

“First of all... ew.” lolololol

Shayna’s hatred for Lana is fucking hilarious.

Why is it, whenever Nia and Shayna do their dual barricade ragdoll move, Nia always gets the lighter one?

Nia fucking pummeled Lana lmao.

I kind of wish this story had a live crowd, I’d like to see if all of this was actually buying Lana some goodwill from the audience.

Hilarious watching Lana sit on the bottom rope for a few seconds before climbing through onto the apron, before slinking down to a sitting position, before finally collapsing onto the floor barely peering into the ring. Tf is she doing rofl.

Now she jumped up onto the apron lacking any enthusiasm, tagged herself in, and is climbing onto the turnbuckle while seemingly sobbing. What in the fuck lmao.

God Asuka is working overtime here.

*Bonus* online exclusive: how fun, Lana and Asuka are singing and dancing together. This division is turning into a garbage fire rq.

Oh is Mandy still out with an injury in kf?

Love it when new debuts get no fucking entrance. Yikes.

Mia Yim had such a dope theme song and entrance, I can’t believe it’s been scrapped so that she can call herself “Reckoning” and hang out in some dead-end group. Shame.

Oh my god. Mia loses to Dana via rollup after taking virtually no offense. What a waste of everyone’s time. I see this going nowhere, absolutely nowhere.

*Bonus* online exclusive: lmfao the Nikki Cross interview was worth a mention. First off, Nikki looks gorgeous. Second, I feel like this is the beginning of her run of not appearing on Raw because she isn’t deemed developed enough outside of a tag team, which is sad. Third, rofl @ her giving Sarah sheep’s stomach chicken to eat, I have no words. Anyway, she should be a solid midcarder. Get it together wwe.

Highlight: Probably the Nikki Cross online exclusive

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NXT:

They got Shotzi something that glows. Wow.

Why is there a silhouette as if Io isn’t already added to the team? Why wouldn’t she be? Shayna was in last year’s, why wouldn’t Io be in this year’s? Is this supposed to be suspenseful?? lmao plz.

Indi did not take a bullet for you, she was just an idiot. Also why does this bitch still have a neck brace on? It was an Eclipse, let’s get real for a second.

Why you acting like your team is cohesive anyway? Doesn’t Dakota hate you? Didn’t Toni just turn heel for virtually no fucking reason, after defending/consoling Shotzi and attacking Candice like a sore loser? *sigh*

I know fans are really into WarGames but I find the alliances really fucking weak every year. It’s as bad as Survivor Series, just with more weapons and brutality.

So Xia Li lost some matches and now she’s being tortured... okay. I’m gonna keep my comments on this to a minimum cuz I can tell this will be some long-term story.

Oh I really like how their respective team members are standing up in the back on balconies. I really fucking like the layout of this arena. Huge fan.

Why Shotzi vs Raquel though? Why is the team captain fighting? That’s not typical for these, is it?

Ugh failure to throw Shotzi through the ropes. There’s just... a skill gap in the division, you know? And Shotzi and Raquel are on the lower end of that gap. I don’t care if people love Shotzi, she’s MILES away from being a champion. What saves her is her risk-taking, but it’s just a matter of time before that bites her in the ass.

Shotzi’s offense is doing a minimal amount of potential damage to her opponent while taking herself out in the most convoluted way possible. She’s Sasha Banks on steroids.

You call it innovative, I call it foolish.

Raquel just standing there waiting with stairs in her hands. Beast.

Shotzi can’t have a kf leg injury, that negates 95% of her offense!

Limpy vs Gimpy

Setting up that ladder in the corner was clunky as shit.

A pure ladder stip is hard to have in a women’s singles match, but this match is a big pile of meh.

Honestly I’m not about to complain about all of these women getting involved because this is borderline boring.

AYYYEEE it’s Io! Io saved this match tbh. Love her, THAT’S my champion.

Give Shotzi’s team the advantage, I doubt they win anyway.

To be honest; you have former nxt champion Ember Moon, inaugural UK champion and former nxt champion who fought against Charlotte fucking Flair at WrestleMania Rhea Ripley, and current champion that beat Charlotte fucking Flair for the title Io Shirai. The idea of that team losing is laughable at best in kf. But they will, cuz fuck babyfaces.

*Bonus* online exclusive: What surprises could you possibly have in store aside from some random weapons? Also fuck your howl. Edit: she was talking about her stupid new tank, wasn’t she...

Highlight: Io showing up at the end of the ladder match

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NXT UK:

Who’s this green-shirt bro and why did he run over there to break up the brawl as if there aren’t 2 dozen officials already? Men needlessly getting involved in women’s fights irritates the shit out of me.

He also got in the way of the shot for the majority of this clip. I hate him.

I hope Jinny wins this future match.

This Aleah girl is like a cross between Kacy and Alexa, and honestly I hate it. Which is odd cuz I love them. She pisses me off though. Not sure what to make of it.

So supposedly Valkyrie is undefeated? That’s good. Let’s keep that going.

Valkyrie has nice counters and is super athletic. I say this every time I watch one of her matches but she deserves more praise.

I hate that women on UK get so little time. Send Valkyrie and KLR to nxt and send Dakota and Rhea to the MR, thanks.

I’d pay to see Valkyrie vs KLR too!

Still not a fan of Valkyrie’s finisher. Love her gear though, it looks different.

Highlight: Always a pleasure watching Valkyrie

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Smackdown:

Lmfao Bayley “fails” to break the count before rolling back outside, so she rolls back in and fucking stomps her feet while yelling at the ref. She’s good. She’s good at the basics, good at paying attention to her surroundings, and good at improvising.

Bayley and Nattie are smooth together. They’ve never had a match, right? Other than this?

Love how Bianca has all of Bayley’s attention.

Bayley just used Nattie’s discus clothesline against her lmao. What a troll.

I remember when Bayley tapped, her entire fanbase was crying claiming she was buried. Watching it myself, she is so obviously entering into a program with Bianca. Christ 90% of her attention was on Bianca throughout the match.

*Bonus* online exclusive: Bianca just told Bayley her hair ain’t even and she looks dusty, good fucking bye.

mmmm not sure if Sasha has the admiration of the wwe universe. Look she’s a remarkable talent in the ring, but she is insanely annoying outside of it. She’s changed nothing from the time she was heel, other than no longer cheating to win. She obnoxiously cackles, she’s egotistical, she gets along with legit nobody. I’m not convinced the crowd would even cheer her, even if she’s one of the best bell to bell. Her fans can call her the number 1 babyface, but that’s a stretch if I’ve ever heard one.

“I won the first 2 women’s mitb” aaggghhhhh I hate that Carmella still claims that. Debatable. De-ba-ta-ble.

Lol “I can’t help if men are obsessed with me,” alright sure. That’s good tbh. Carmella is a notorious cheat but regardless, that’s good.

Well the reason y’all never faced one on one is because Carmella’s a Smackdown veteran and you just got here, but I digress.

So where’s the army that still runs around crying that Becky buried her when she called her the greatest woman to never be great (facts)? Where’s the outrage for Sasha demeaning Carmella and claiming she’s not in her league? Sasha fans are wild.

“With half the work I’m better than you. I held onto that Smackdown woman’s title longer than all of your title reigns combined.” omg she’s dead. Shots fired, target hit. Someone call Sasha a hearse.

Instead of sitting there making ugly faces, Sasha really should’ve gotten up and left. Lick her wounds or something kekek.

Highlight: I’m into this Bayley/Bianca thing they’re building

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Takeover WarGames:

I just think it’s so cool that wwe shelled out the money for a Black Sabbath song. Of course they can afford it, but for a Takeover? Points.

Nobody wants to come take out Candice rq? No? Nobody at all???

Oh hell yeah Dakota gets to start? Good for her, since she skipped out on it last year.

I don’t fucking get Ember Moon’s persona, but I like her lit gear tonight.

“Aiming it square at Team LeRae” sometimes I wonder if Vic is simply blind.

The concept of this match is fun, but it always feels a little hollow until the match actually starts.

So cool that they got Wade Barrett on commentary in nxt.

Sloppy headscissors by Ember, but Dakota sold well per usual. Not sure why they’d have Ember run the marathon.

I’d pay so much money to see the 4hw in a WarGames match.

Oh that’s cool, Raquel put her hand up to protect Ember’s face from Dakota’s kick. We appreciate a performer that protects her coworkers.

That sunset flip powerbomb by Shotzi onto Raquel off the ropes was neat.

Toni up in here just removing all the turnbuckles. I wonder if running into exposed turnbuckles actually hurts that much.

Toni barely taps Ember with a kendo stick and she acting like she’s dying.

Man that 6 woman thing was so choreographed. Even did a countdown.

Io ma’am we don’t-- we don’t need ladders... okay. Okay.

Io scaling the cage and Raquel knocking her off like in Super Mario Brothers.

I feel like WarGames is convoluted enough, but sure, let’s get into the winter of overbooked women’s matches. New season, same bullshit.

AHAHAHAHAH IO’S FUCKING SMILE. She is standing on top of the cage putting a garbage can over her head, and has the audacity to wear a shit eating grin. I cannot, this girl is crazy and I love her.

Stupid spot? Maybe. Is Io batshit insane for jumping like 10 feet down completely blind? Absolutely. Points.

CLEAN ddt by Io onto Raquel. Spiked.

Candice is dumb. Got a trash can lid standing opposite Shotzi who’s wielding a chair. Candice throws the lid, says ‘hold on’, then climbs through the ropes to grab a kendo stick while crying ‘help’. Grabs her kendo stick, goes to bat against Shotzi, gets her hand smashed lmao. Idiot.

Oh that was perfectly timed. Dakota busts Shotzi with a chair strike and barely even begins to turn around before Io missile dropkicks the chair into her from out of nowhere.

Dakota stuck a trash can over Io and then did a double stomp that impacted the trash can so badly she couldn’t slide it off lol. eesh.

Is Ember gonna attempt to Eclipse someone onto a set of upright chairs... Omg no. You’re gonna take the brunt of this, jfc don’t.

Oh good god what a fucking beautifully bad idea. I hope you’re okay bro. Man Dakota FLIPPED over. Nasty, nasty move.

That Storm Zero through a trash can was ace. Honestly I see a lot more potential for Toni here in nxt than over on UK.

This is a really good match.

It’s not that I hate the coffin drop off the ladder onto Candice, but Candice really ruined it by preemptively grabbing a chair and holding it on top of herself. Kind of spelled out exactly how that was gonna go.

Io and Rhea make an amazing team.

Rhea and being thrown into the cage on the outside of the ropes, name a more iconic duo. I’ve heard that’s the worst part about cage matches cuz your skin legit gets dragged against the links as you slide down.

Holy shit Io just got powerbombed through a ladder. OOF.

That’s the ending?? Raquel pinned Io for the ending??? Holllllyyyy shit.

Interestingly enough, I’d have to say the 2 team captains did the least amount of notable work.

What took out Shotzi: On screen the last bump she took was her coffin drop onto Candice, which kept her from saving Io. Mess.

Some great spots for sure. Recency bias might be a thing, but I feel like I enjoyed this one more than last year’s.

Highlight: That Eclipse onto the chairs to Dakota was WICKED

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*BONUS*

Main Event:

Main event giving people promo time? Is this typical??

Okay look. You acknowledged Alexa is brainwashed. You acknowledged that she chose him (even though she’s brainwashed so you really shouldn’t be upset). Now you’re claiming SHE came out and slapped you, as if you haven’t been relentlessly bothering her about her boyfriend that she chose because she’s brainwashed, and as if you weren’t the one who came out and confronted her. Is this not super problematic to anyone else??? Nikki this doesn’t make you a victim or even a decent person/friend lmao.

It’s a good promo though. Good delivery, very buyable.

WHY DO I GOTTA HEAR THE CAW MUSIC???

I know Lacey’s being a bitch, but it’s an awful hair style, Sarah. I’m sorry.

Lmao Lacey is so god damn funny when she has someone to play off of. I can see the appeal in her and Peyton, I can see it. I can see it. The pairing should absolutely not last long because Lord they’re abysmal in the ring together, but outside? Swell, just swell.

Lacey will always have a job solely for her character work if nothing else.

Haha Lacey running from Nikki. She’s a treat.

Really thought that spinning heel kick was gonna be the end of it.

This match is definitely Main Event(tm) worthy, but I’m glad it has some semblance of a story going into it.

Peyton’s jump kick looks dumb.

Probably for the best that Nikki loses this, even if Peyton is awful.

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*WarGames was definitely the highlight in an otherwise really lame week of wrestling. I don’t even have a runner-up, I’m just thankful for WarGames.

#wwe #issa review #feel free to ignore these #cuz who tf cares lesbihonest #today's props goes to:#dakota kai

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pass-the-bechdel · 6 years

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Supergirl s02e16 ‘Star Crossed (1)’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, twice. Barely.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Five (41.66% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Seven.

Positive Content Rating:

Three? I guess.

General Episode Quality:

Nevermind, they’re back to stupid. So, so stupid.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Kara passes with Rhea when they meet. They speak again later. There’s a lot of Mon-El involved both times, but they get there eventually.

Female characters:

Kara Danvers.

Alex Danvers.

Lyra.

Rhea.

Maggie Sawyer.

Male characters:

Mon-El.

J’onn J’onzz.

Winn Schott.

Lar.

James Olsen.

Boris.

Mandrax.

OTHER NOTES:

“To make Daxom great again.” Oh, no.

Ok. That flashback. I have mentioned before, how disturbed I am to find that the original confrontation of Kara’s prejudices towards Daxom have since been shown as actual deserved disdain, and how Daxom being actually exactly as bad as she said (to a caricaturish level) undermines Kara’s supposed lesson as well as treating Krypton as holier-than-thou despite all the huge flaws in its culture that have been made so evident, creating this huge us-vs-them divide with a really clear ‘good side’ and ‘bad side’ and absolutely zero nuance, etc. The flashback to Mon-El’s departure from Daxom as it actually happened does no favours to any aspect of the narrative: Mon-El is shown as hesitant and concerned for the safety of others in defiance of the prevailing Daxomite attitude, because the show is too afraid of the audience backlash if they show him being truly callous instead of just passively allowing it, while at the same time the narrative gives no quarter for Daxom and its people as a whole despite their undeserved fates. We are supposed to see Mon-El’s guard and think him awful, but what do we expect any ‘good’ guard to do? Maybe not kill that one guy, but the rest, with the ignoring everyone else in order to focus on rescuing the person he’s pledged to protect? Even killing the Kryptonian makes sense (is not morally ok, but makes sense) in the context of being exactly the kind of targeted violence that happens in the real world when people are ‘othered’. The coding of the behaviour is so transparent it’s disgusting, and coupled with that not-even-veiled MAGA line just before? Daxom’s Republicans to Krypton’s Democrats is a pretty fucking gross parallel to draw. I am very disappointed in the show for all of this garbage.

Remember when I fucking flagged Lyra as using Winn for her own ends the second she stepped on screen? Fucking flagged it.

This is a much better Hamilton joke right here than the one a few episodes ago, but that one a few episodes ago was still too much, and that steps on this, because, really? Two sizeable Hamilton gags with only a couple of episodes between them? You’re trying WAY too hard to be current, show. It’s embarrassing.

Uurrrgghhh, and now we’re doing the ‘oh actually Lyra had a good reason for being terrible!’ thing? This shit is so predictable and empty and I am so over it. Remember one episode ago when this show was momentarily good again?

Is Guardian fighting in a fucking glass factory or what? So many glass panes to be thrown through.

So, we pretending that Lyra’s lie and Mon-El’s lie are the same? Just ‘they lied’ is not a parallel, show. These are not comparable situations.

See, Mon-El says in his apology that ‘I was a spoiled, useless person, but I didn’t know’, and that’s a big part of what is making this whole storyline, all season long, so poor. The total lack of nuance in Daxom. The clear-cut morality of Kryptonians which, also, lacks the nuance of reality. If Mon-El was raised in that life, how much opportunity did he have for seeing the flaws in it and recognising them as such? We have no concept of his level of self-awareness, and refusing to allow people room to grow is not how you achieve progress. At the same time, Mon-El’s process of self-improvement on Earth has been so paint-by-numbers simple, it’s hard to take it seriously. If he’s found changing so easy, how entrenched were those ‘spoiled, useless’ teachings that made up his entire formative existence? Real people take years to overcome such things, not least because when it’s a commonplace feature of how you were raised, it’s hard to recognise that there’s even a problem, let alone dismantle the rationale in your own mind that has allowed you to be unthinkingly complicit. Expecting Mon-El to change like flipping a coin is unfair; blaming him for the circumstances of his birth is unfair; telling this story in the way that they have, with his self-awareness and capacity for immediate total overhaul not just of personality but of ideals apparently uninhibited and detailed with only the slightest of backslides? Utterly unrealistic. What should have been a long, hard journey of self-reflection, questioning, and honestly ugly behaviour has instead been casual comic relief and romantic faux pas, and that’s so insulting. I can’t support Mon-El as a character because I can’t support the ill-constructed narrative that made him; in basic terms, he doesn’t make enough sense. He’s too unrealistic to function.

URGH. This is such a fucking mess I am annoyed at myself for even trying to untangle it. That kinda happens when you’re trying to over-simplify your storytelling to this extent: the break from reality is too intense, and you end up with a heap of confusion that your audience can’t figure out how to engage with on a meaningful level. In university, the single most important word I learned was ‘ethnocentricity’ - the belief that your own culture/background is inherently superior to all others. On the surface level, this is plain ol’ racism - and can be many other ‘isms as well, as cultural background shapes our perceptions of gender, sexuality, religion, etc. Looking deeper, we see ethnocentricity manifest when we assume that our social or moral codes are automatically the correct ones, without pausing to question where we got those codes from, and whether or not, actually, there might be better ways to do things. I actually debated this directly, back in 2016 when two Australian men were executed in Indonesia for drug smuggling, and the debate over the morality of the death penalty was rife throughout the country. I’m not going to get into that debate again here, but as an example of ethnocentricism, it was a case in which a lot of Australians flat refused to acknowledge the possibility that just because another country has different laws which conflict with our way of doing things, doesn’t necessarily mean that the people of that country are corrupt, lesser beings with an under-developed sense of morality which we need to step in and correct. Different ways of doing things can be shocking to our sensibilities at first blush, but we have to think about why they are that way and how the backdrop of that logic informs the constructs we see, before we pass high-and-mighty judgment over others.

Supergirl’s Daxom narrative is a perfect example of ethnocentricism at work, with zero reflection: Kara is right, Mon-El is wrong, this cultural division is all-encompassing and without exception, the end. To be clear: I’m not suggesting that there’s a way to argue for, say, slavery being ok, but what there is is nuance to how people reach such a conclusion, and if we refuse to engage with the nuance we can’t engage with cultural learning, sharing, or understanding, and that’s how you end up with blank hostility instead of working towards more positive futures. Something being ‘obviously morally correct’ is (as evidenced through the entirety of human history) not enough to change systemic issues outright; if it were, the systemic issues wouldn’t have developed in the first place. Supergirl has run into trouble here because it’s trying to be topical, addressing the divisions in current US politics, but it also doesn’t want to actually have a nuanced conversation about the subject, and so instead we get heavy-handed black-and-white morality that only alienates the two sides instead of identifying common ground and building upon it to bridge the gap. Moreover, the show cripples its ability to explore these concepts in a better, more thorough way in the future, because it refuses to commit to the shades of grey in its situation and instead builds a two-camps concept in which any dithering or olive-branching between the two looks like ideological compromise and moral degradation instead of the complicated and painful process of learning that it represents in the real world.

The truth is that as nice as it is to sit on your moral high horse feeling pure and special while everyone else scrabbles on the muddy ground, you can’t understand the people down below and you certainly can’t help them unless you’re willing to hop down and work through the mud as well, and what use is ideological purity if you’re the only one who benefits from it? That doesn’t mean that we should all start behaving in ways that conflict with our moral compass because, hey, some people are bigots, but it does mean recognising that we are all in a process of self-improvement and if you’re not at least open to the possibility that your way of doing things isn’t the best way, you can’t progress yourself, nor does treating others with condescension help bring them to your way of thinking or at least to a middle ground from which you can proceed together. That’s all a much messier and trickier prospect than what this show wants to deal with, and yet it’s exactly the story they’ve blundered into the middle of with the ridiculous notion that they’re gonna be able to clear-cut their way out. Mon-El’s process should involve a lot of questions: not ‘this thing is correct because obviously it is’ or ‘this thing is correct because Kara says so’, but rather ‘I’m being told that my way is wrong: why? Why is it wrong? Why was I taught that it was right? In what ways has my belief in the correctness of this thing influenced my perceptions of other things? Is it possible that this thing I believe actually is right, and Kara is wrong? Why should her perspective be infallible? What are the consequences of either possibility? Does that jive with the rest of my understanding of the world? What else is altered by this change? Are these alterations also correct?’ and so on, and so on, ad nauseum. Exhausting, repetitive, and complicated, yes, but that’s the reality (not least because he’s supposed to be a literal alien from another planet, but, whatever). At first, I thought it was stupid of them to introduce Mon-El without bothering to spend time on his integration into Earth culture outside of a handful of gimmicks; now I see that it’s much worse than that. I don’t expect this whole arc to end well; I only hope that it ends quickly.

#Supergirl #Supergirl season two #Bechdel Test #female representation #Star Crossed (1)

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hellofastestnewsfan · 5 years

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This post contains major spoilers for Season 2, Episode 9 of Succession.

Would an Atlantic article really refer to a media exec as “a smirking block of domestic feta” due to his dodgy congressional testimony, as we were portrayed to have done to poor Tom Wambsgans in the latest episode of Succession? Hmm. I, at least, have reached for cheese comparisons before. Maybe our editors would nix the suggestion of food that has a face to smirk with. But some mixed metaphors are too fun to block, as the writers of Succession’s deliciously nonsensical banter know well.

Certainly the imaginary Atlantic description fits Tom’s (Matthew Macfadyen) congressional performance. He crumbles crappily. Responding to a federal inquiry into sexual exploitation and cover-ups at Brightstar Cruises, he over-prepares and yet still acts like he’s been ambushed. When Senator Gil Eavis (Eric Bogosian) asks about the nickname for the late pervy cruise boss (“Mo” Lester), Tom explains that, well, Lester just seemed like a molester. He commits flagrant perjury on the topic of whether he actually knows his own deputy, Greg (Nicholas Braun). He responds to the question of whether he used underlings as furniture like this: “Senator, I use a variety of target-oriented incentives to enhance optimal performance.”

After that cringey interrogation, Tom accuses his colleagues—and his wife, Siobhan (Sarah Snook)—of having set him up as a patsy. Maybe they did do that. Maybe they didn’t but will now. It seems possible that Tom could be the “blood sacrifice” that the family patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) says he’ll need to end this scandal. In any case, Tom’s problems fundamentally are created by Tom. He’s a horrible person but also a horrible con man: the kind of guy who, to take one example that made him vulnerable to prosecution, commits harassment by email. “Just remember it is not a courthouse, it is a stage,” Waystar’s strategist Hugo counsels him before the hearing. “Anything goes.” Tom’s useless nib of conscience, his wavering fealty to the big lie, and his undisciplined cowardice ruin the act.

The actual Roy kids have screwed up for similar reasons before. But in this episode, as Waystar-Royco faced its greatest existential threat, they make a surprising display of mettle—sparring with lawmakers, securing a financial bailout, and neutralizing a whistle-blower. The realm of politics pushes Succession’s kids to grok what Tom doesn’t yet grasp: how great BS works.

Logan, of course, is the master. In private he screams that the scandal over cruises was “nonsense.” At the hearing, he dons his reading glasses and soberly reports that learning of internal malfeasance made for “the worst day of [his] life,” adding, “Frankly I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself.” He vows a full investigation and thorough prosecution of wrongdoers—and does this so convincingly that Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) whispers “Fuck yeah” in the audience. When specific questions come from senators, Logan mumbles, speaks in vagaries, and redirects to his son: a fully committed filibuster.

Next up is Kendall Roy, the troubled and oft-bumbling eldest. The actor Jeremy Strong affects a perfectly blank look throughout Logan’s testimony—which makes it all the more electrifying when Kendall livens up into a cable-news counterpuncher. Back at the Argestes conference earlier in the season, when the cruise scandal was just breaking, he’d insisted that the company take responsibility for its abuses. Now, he aggressively reroutes the hearing’s topic from Warstar-Royco’s wrongdoing to the supposed witch-hunting of the liberal Eavis, who Kendall suggests wanted a state-run media. Kendall’s bluster is as irrelevant to the hearing’s goals as it is advantageous for his own: A hack on the Fox News–like ATN hails it as “a takedown for the ages.”

Roman Roy’s (Kieran Culkin) task: to convince the Azerbaijani heir Edward (Babak Tafti) to sink royal money into Waystar. When Logan puts this assignment to him, Roman calls the ask “a stretch” and offers, “If it’s really important, I can say I’ll do it, like a fireman in a movie.” Translation: I don’t think I can do it. Yet when pitching Edward’s team in Turkey, Roman puts on a striking display of seriousness and straight talk while outlining the upside of investing in Waystar. Unfortunately the presentation is interrupted by a team of polite kidnappers; fortunately, while being held hostage as part of some sort of sectarian power grab, Roman is still able to move the deal along. The would-be investors ask all the right questions: Might the government block the deal? Might the takeover bid against Waystar interfere? But Roman, so often indecisive and mealymouthed, calmly insists that there’s no need to worry about those things.

Negotiating under gunpoint might still be a less daunting job than the one Shiv finds herself saddled with: convincing a woman who worked for Lester to stay quiet about what she saw. The prospect of bullying a mega #MeToo witness is so gross that the incoming Waystar CEO Rhea (Holly Hunter) bails on it at the last moment, leaving Shiv to act alone. As Kira (Sally Murphy) watches her kid play on the jungle gym, Shiv chats her up using a fire-ice mix—sympathy and innuendo, real talk and manipulation—that gradually wears down the former cruise employee’s caginess. In part, Shiv builds trust by seeming to break trust: calling Logan a serial liar and even admitting that she herself only had her own interests, not Kira’s, at heart. But she also employs fear (spelling out all the public abuse Kira would receive for testifying), bribery (casually offering millions), and an appeal to virtue (a vow to clear out Waystar’s creeps). The multifront approach works. Kira goes quiet.

What’s remarkable about the Roys’ performances is that while they were symphonies of spin, they weren’t necessarily full of lies. Logan does wish there wasn’t a mess to clean up; Kendall does disdain Gil’s politics; Roman does believe in the company; Shiv does want to clean it up. If there is a secret to Logan’s dominance, it’s in his ability to state a seemingly impossible goal and then convince himself—and eventually the world—of its realness. “When I say something will happen that thing will happen,” he said earlier this season to Rhea. Now, in the course of quitting her job, Rhea tells him, “I don’t know if you care about anything, and that scares me.” The truth may well be that he doesn’t care about anything other than self preservation—and finally his kids are understanding there’s power in that.

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lazyupdates · 6 years

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It’s been over a decade since Sonam Kapoor made her on screen debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya. And in these 10 years, we got to see different shades of Sonam Kapoor on-screen. From the shy and innocent Sakina in Saawariya, to the fearless and courageous portrayal of Neerja, Sonam has given us many memories from her characters on screen. Along with some brilliant performances on screen, Sonam has also gotten herself the reputation of being the ultimate fashionista in Bollywood. Whether she is walking the ramp or just spotted during a casual outing in the city, Sonam always has her style game on-point.

She also has been walking the ramp at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for quite a few years now and has managed to make heads turn at every single appearance. Sonam has always been at the forefront when it comes to standing up for the environment and raising awareness regarding important issues like breast cancer and LGBT rights. So, we give you a complete timeline tracking the journey of Sonam Kapoor over the years.

As we all know, Sonam Kapoor comes from a family with a rich heritage in the film industry. She is the daughter of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and Sunita Kapoor and is the niece to producer Boney Kapoor and actor Sanjay Kapoor. So, it is no surprise that Bollywood runs in her blood. Interestingly, Sonam was more interested in writing and direction than in acting earlier. And upon her father, Anil Kapoor’s recommendation she managed to bag a role in the crew of Sanjay Leela Bhansali��s Black as an assistant director.

It was during the filming of Black when Sonam Kapoor began to develop interest in acting. During the shoot of Black, Sanjay Leela Bhansali told Sonam that he wanted to cast her as the lead in his next film. Motivated by Bhansali’s words Sonam Kapoor ended up loosing 35 Kg’s within a span of two years.

While we all are admirers of Sonam Kapoor’s hot bod now, many might not know she had severe issues with her weight when she was younger. Sonam was diagnosed with insulin resistance and polycystic ovarian disease. This provoked her to spread awareness for diabetes, for which she shot a special commercial and also promoted the launch of Kalli Purie’s Confessions of a Serial Dieter. During the launch of the book, Sonam spoke about her condition and revealed that it was Sanjay Leela Bhansali who gave her the wake up call which motivated her to get in shape. She said, “I was 63 kilos at the age of 12, then I lost my weight because at 13 I started noticing boys and boys started noticing me and then when I was 15 and I had to start studying I put on a lot of weight again and I was 86 kilos till I was 19. Sanjay Leela Bhansali saw my face and said you have a beautiful face but your body is like an Ajanta Elora painting, which was happening like 100s and 100s of years ago, it’s not happening anymore! You have to wear a backless choli and you can’t have fat rolls sticking out from behind! That was a reality check.”

Sonam Kapoor later went on to study acting under Roshan Taneja, Jayati Bhatia and Feroz Abbas Khan. During an interview with a leading daily, she also revealed that her admiration of Nutan and Waheeda Rehman further inspired her for being an actor. She said, “I simply adore Waheeda Rehman. From her acting to her choice of films — it needed guts to choose movies like Pyaasa or Guide — she went ahead with it. I’m also very inspired by Nutan. I love her for her work in Bandini and Saraswatichandra. Both have looked good and done path-breaking films. I love their quality of doing different things. They stood out as actors who are not just beautiful faces.”

While Saawariya did not manage to impress the audience and the critics, Sonam’s work in the film received praise. Although, her character in the film wasn’t very likeable but she definitely impressed everyone with her charming screen presence. Saawariya also earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (Female).

In 2009, she was seen in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 which also starred Abhishek Bachchan Om Puri and Waheeda Rahman. Even though, this film failed to perform at the box-office again, Sonam’s character of a bubbly and full of life Delhi girl certainly grabbed many eyeballs.

Sonam’s first commercial success came in 2010, with Punit Malhotra’s I Hate Luv Storys, which also starred Imran Khan. I Hate Luv Storys was a film about how two completely opposite people end up together. Sonam played the character of Simran, a girl who believes that her life is just like a typical Bollywood romantic film. In fact, her life does (sort of) resemble that theory as well with her perfect job and a “Mr.Perfect” finance. On the other hand, we had Jay (Imran Khan), who didn’t want anything to do with love stories. His hate for Sonam’s obsession with romance causes them to fight a lot earlier but they eventually become good friends. Simran’s close bond with Jay brings problems in her love life to the point that she believes Jay not Raj is the right man for her. However, when she finds out that he doesn’t feel the same, she leaves town and does not inform him out of embarrassment. During Simran’s absence Jay realises that he too has fallen in love with her. In the end, Jay confesses his love to her and she reveals that she still feels the same. I Hate Luv Storys was Sonam’s first commercial success and the major reason for that was it was able to struck the right chord with its target audience. Although the story didn’t have anything extra ordinary, Sonam and Imran’s chemistry in the film made it a fun a watch. The lifetime collections of the film were âÂÃÂ¹72.5 crore.

In the same year, Sonam played the eponymous role in Aisha. Aisha was a romantic comedy based on Jane Austen’s novel Emma and was also produced by her younger sister Rhea Kapoor. Along with Sonam, Aisha also starred Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey and Amrita Puri. Even though the film wasn’t able to perform at the box office, Sonam’s performance received rave reviews from critics all over. Many believed that Sonam’s role in Aisha was tailor made for her personality which is why she was such a good fit.

After this Sonam Kapoor had a string of films which failed to live up on people expectations. Films like Thank You, Mausam and Players failed to impress the critics as well as the audience.

A turning point in her career came when she seen in Aanand L Rai’s Raanjhanaa in 2013. In Raanjhanaa, Sonam played the character of Zoya Haider, a student who later gets drawn into politics after the death of her Sikh lover. Since Sonam was playing the role of a student, she interacted with students, attended several workshops and also practised with the theatre groups from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She also revealed during an interview with a leading daily, that she drew inspirations from Jaya Bachchan’s character in the 1971 film Guddi for her role. She said, “The spunkiness that Jayaji’s character had in Guddi… We needed that. I needed an inspiration as in real life my schooling was conservative and different. So I needed a starting point… I did watch that film again. It was quite amazing to play this role. Jayaji’s performance inspired me to do better. It was perfect for the character I was going to portray.” Her performance in the film was described as the best of her career at the time and also earned her the first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

In the same year, Sonam was seen in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag which was a biopic on the legendary Indian Athlete Milkha Singh. Although her role in the film wasn’t large she managed to impress the audience with her portrayal of the innocent and sweet girl who Milkha Singh fell in love with. In an interview with a leading daily, Sonam revealed that she charged just Rs 11 for her role in the film. She said, “They had a budget and they told me they can’t give money and that’s why I said give Rs11 and I will do the film. I love Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. For me he is somebody who gave me a lot of confidence and helped me open up. For me the reason I did ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was because it was an outstanding script, I wanted to work with Farhan Akhtar and I wanted to again work with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. My role is a pivotal role, and it was an honour to play the part. I feel great; I’m really proud to be a part of this film. I love working with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, so to be a part of Milkha is amazing because it’s such an inspirational story, and the inspiration for Milkha is my character, so I think it’s beautiful being a part of the story.”

After Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, her next hit was Khoobsurat (2014) which also starred Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The film was an adaptation of the 1980 film of the same name, playing the role which had originally been given to Rekha. Khoobsurat earned her a nomination at the Filmfare Awards in th Best Actress category the following year. After the release, people started drawing comparison between Sonam’s and Rekha’s character in the film. When Sonam was asked about her response to these comparison in an interview with a leading daily, she said, “People are drawing comparisons, obviously, but I can never be as good as her, and this is not just about Rekhaji. Meena Kumari, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn … they were all icons and I am inspired by all of them. I am also inspired by other women who are artists. I am inspired by clothes that I find beautiful, or by art. I am not trying to imitate or ape someone and there is more to me than just the clothes. My paintings, for instance. I love art. I collect books. I do so many things and there are so many other facets to my personality as well. But I guess I can’t really carry my paintings or my books around with me, so it’s my clothes that become the talking point. I don’t think I can do justice to what Rekha has done. This film is an ode to Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s filmmaking. There are very few films that have been wholesome entertainers and have great value. Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films appealed to all, as they were fun films with a message. Today, such films are made by Raju Hirani. It is a huge responsibility but it was exciting to work on this film.”

Sonam Kapoor also featured in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015) opposite Salman Khan. Although the film didn’t impress the critics it went on to score big at the box office. The film managed to make just over 200 crore (203.53 approx) and became one of the highest grossing films of the year.

In 2016, Sonam was seen in Neerja which is widely considered the highlight of her career so far. In Neerja, Sonam played the role of Neerja Bahnot, a courageous air hostess, who died while saving the passengers of the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986. The film garnered massive critical acclaim and she went on to win the Filmfare critics Award for Best Actress and was honoured with a special mention at the National Film Awards. In an interview with a leading daily, Sonam also revealed that this project was extremely close to her heart since she was portraying the story of a real person. She said, “With every film, I would say that it was my most difficult. I think, if with every film I don’t challenge myself over and over again then I will get bored. So, each movie is equally challenging for me. Definitely, since Neerja is my latest film, it was the most challenging. I am also more emotionally attached to it because it is a real person and to live up to that expectations it was challenging, yes.”

After a 2 year break from the silver screen, Sonam Kapoor was seen in Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man (2018). The film was based on a short story in Twinkle Khanna’s book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad. Pad Man told the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, the man who campaigned for menstrual hygiene in rural India. Although her role in the film was short in duration, Sonam said that she took the project because she felt it was important to address such an issue. In an interview with a leading daily, she said, “It’s a really difficult phase for us women. Those of us who have a platform and a voice, must use it to express what we believe in. PadMan addresses itself to the question of menstruation. It’s a huge issue for a majority of woman in our country. It didn’t take me long to say yes to PadMan. And I am so glad I did it.”

Sonam Kapoor’s latest release was Veere Di Wedding. Along with Sonam, the film also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania. Veere Di Wedding is a story about four best friends and what transpires when one of them is getting married. The film overall has received a positive response from the critics as well as the audience and is doing phenomenally well at the box office.

Sonam also has an extremely exciting line up of films coming up. She will first be seen in the Sanjay Dutt biopic titled Sanju which also stars Ranbir Kapoor and releases on June 29. The film is without a doubt one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year. Ever since the trailer has been out, people cannot stop raving about it. She will also be seen in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, which also stars her father, Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla. The film is scheduled to release in the later half of 2018.

The post Birthday Special: Sonam Kapoorâs complete timeline in Bollywood appeared first on Lazy Updates.

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