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annakie · 2 years

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A List of Shows I’ve Watched So Far This Year

...and a couple of sentences about each one. Also some movies and podcasts, too.

I started keeping a list around the time the entertainment outlets started publishing their “Best of 2021″ lists near the end of the year so I would be sure to catch some good TV since I wasn’t sure what to watch half the time. So this list is partially from those lists, partially stuff I found in other ways like via tumblr gifsets on my dash, some things I stumbled upon, had already been watching, and some just because I was subscribed to whatever service a show was on and thought “Hm that looks interesting.”

Tried keeping track of movies and podcasts, too. Gonna do video games in a different post. Currently I have 34 shows on my “To Watch / Catch up on” list, and always adding more.

This is in no particular order at all.

Taskmaster (& rewatched a lot of it.) - OK I immediately lied. I moved this to the top because I honestly believe everyone should watch Taskmaster. It is the most joyful thing I’ve ever watched, I love it so, so much. Everyone I have convinced to watch the show has loved it. It curbs anxiety, it always always always makes me laugh, and there’s a lot of it to watch.

Taskmaster is a British... panel/game show, sort of, where five comedians/entertainers are at the whims of the Taskmaster (Greg Davis) and his assistant (Alex Horne, who is the true genius behind the show) and do ABSOLUTELY ABSURD tasks to earn his approval. The same cast stays for an entire season (early on 5 or 6 episodes, then 8, now 10.) Greg scores their efforts, and at the end of the season, the winner takes home... a bust of Greg’s head. Mostly bragging rights and a spot on the Champion of Champions special that happens after every 5th season.

I cannot express how much I love Taskmaster. You can just watch most of it for free on Youtube. Series 1 Episode 1 is a fine place to start, or maybe try season 4 for people you likely already know. Anyway, that’s the sales pitch. Everything else is just my opinions. Watch Taskmaster, unless you hate fun and don’t need a distraction right now?

I started watching it near the end of last year, and then synced up with @ahab99 and we watched the rest of it together. It’s been one of my favorite things to do this year, and the fandom is great. My favorite seasons are 4, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 13, but I love them ALL.

Kongen Befaler (Taskmaster Norway) S1 & 2 - I love Taskmaster so much I started watching the Norwegien version, which is slow going because I have to be in the right mind to watch something with subtitles, but the Norwegian version is very nearly as good as the original. Highly recommend it if you’ve finished with the original. I haven’t yet gotten to the New Zealand version yet because I’m waiting for ahab99 to be ready, but I know it’s also considered to be great.

The Great S1 & 2 - Speaking of great... watched this as it was on Alan Sepinwall’s best of 2021, and I trust him about quality of things most of the time. Enjoyed The Great a lot, not one of my favorite things of the year, but thought the leads were very good and also Sacha Dhawan was a nice surprise. It’s got a lot more grossout humor than you were probably expecting. But I’ll watch S3.

Halt and Catch Fire S1-4 - I’d watched S1 and the first half of S2 when it was airing, then fell behind, and my DVR broke, and I never caught back up. But Sepinwall had mentioned it somewhere in a review I read recently and put it back on the list. It’s a show that got stronger every season. S1 was really trying way too hard to be Mad Men But In the 80′s And About Tech, once they figured out the characters in S2, toned down Lee Pace’s character and made the “mousey wife” not so mousey, it got amazing. Loved it so much.

Station Eleven - The first few eps aired last year, and I watched it in real time, but the last three aired this year. This is one of the best things I watched not only this year but... ever. A story of love and hope after a world-ending pandemic. You would think “I don’t need a pandemic story right now” but yeah, you need this story. One of the most satisfying moments I’ve experienced in fiction near the end of the series, too. So good. Highly rec. This also means Mackenzie Davis was one of the leads of... the last two things I talked about and she deserves all the awards.

Hacks S1 & 2 - I love Jean Smart and had been meaning to get around to this one for awhile, so I got to it like a few weeks before S2 aired. Really funny and powerful story of two women in different generations who were there when they needed it the most. A definite rec.

Starstruck S1 & 2 - I watched this not only because Sepinwall recommended it, but because it was created by & stars Rose Matafeo, who is on series 9 of Taskmaster and who I adore because of it. Really funny, great story, a little frustrating, but well worth it.

Our Flag Means Death (3 times) - Thanks to tumblr for all the gifsets, and finding out Guz Khan (who is in S12 of Taskmaster) is in this show, I gave in and watched it. I didn’t watch it the first time til the week after it ended, but then I signed up for HBO Max to support the show and watched it three times in one month. Loved it. Can’t wait for S2.

Severance - Came for Adam Scott, stayed for holy shit what is going on here why do I have to wait week to week for more? I NEED ANSWERS NOW. Creepy, bleak, and very, very intriguing. Am on the edge of my seat for season 2. Another one of the best things I’ve seen this year/in awhile.

The Expanse (Some in 2021, some in 2022) - One of those shows I’d been meaning to get into for a long time and I knew if I could stick with it eventually I’d love it. I had tried the first episode a couple of times over the last few years and didn’t like it but... I was determined this time and stuck with it. I have LOVED Shohreh Aghdashloo for a long time and she got me to stick around. I honestly didn’t love the show until season 2 or so, but at some point I was all in, and was sad when I finished, though a couple of the seasons were weaker than others for sure, and learning the circumstances behind the removal of one of the main characters, who was another of my favorites, put a small damper on it. But I’m glad I finished it. Someone make a S7. :(

Upload S2 - Watched S1 and thought it was decent, S2 was... definitely affected by the Pandemic filming. It was OK, but not great. The season finale especially seemed cut off too soon. But I’ll keep watching.

Doctor Who Specials (New Year’s special and The Sea Devils) - New Years special was great, other one was okay. It’s nice that they’re addressing 13/Yaz. Even though, ya know, it’s almost regeneration time. There’s a lot about the 13 era I have liked, but also a lot of wasted potential. And I’m not a fan of the Timeless Child thing... have seen few who are, though.

I also rewatched the Husbands of River Song because the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davis, plays King Hydroflax in this episode.

Critical Role S3 + Calamity - Been keeping up with Critical Role still, though sometimes I fall behind a week or two. I have been enjoying S3 a lot, probably more than I enjoyed the first arc of S2. Having Ashley back full time is great, and I like the new characters. Been staying far, far away from the fandom and the drama, though.

Calamity was amazing. I know I posted a thing about maybe not watching but I did because of how everyone was talking about it, and it was everything people said it was. I cried through most of the finale. Thanks to @thequeenofmyownscreen for crying with me. :)

I have very much wanted to get into Dimension 20 since before Calamity and really want to now, but have yet to find the time.

Breaking Bad Rewatch (Just season 2.5 to the end) - After watching the first half of S6 of Better Call Saul, and hearing the second half is going to have more relevance to Breaking Bad, I went back and re-watched BB from the first Saul episode to the end, since I hadn’t seen it since it aired. For like the S2 and some of the S3 part I was fast forwarding through a lot of like, Hank & Marie scenes or parts that were a lot of people staring at each other, but after awhile I just settled in and re-enjoyed the ride. Worth it.

Better Call Saul S6 - As noted above, have been keeping up with BCS the whole time. Love it. Can’t wait to see how it ends. DON’T KILL KIM WEXLER, PLEASE SHOW.

(BBC) Ghosts S1 - 3 - Three of the main characters have been contestants on Taskmaster (Charlotte Richie - S11, Lolly Adofope - S4 and Katy Wix - S9) plus at least two guest stars (Jessica Knappet - S7, Bridget Christie - S13.) So after learning this plus seeing some gifsets on my tumblr dash and seeing it was on HBO Max, I watched. Really enjoyed it, highly recommend.

(CBS) Ghosts - While looking up info for BBC Ghosts, I saw CBS had brought the show to America. I thought “Well, let’s see how bad they fucked this up” and dove in, intending to watch just the first episode or three. I finished the (currently only, S2 is incoming) season in like a day and a half. They did a good job making both the living married couple and the ghosts American, retaining some flavor of the BBC version without it being a direct ripoff aside from the pilot and one ghost being a near carbon copy of the British counterpart. I think they did a good job making it their own. The Brit version is probably still better, but I don’t regret watching both and will watch the next seasons of both, too.

(New) Kids in the Hall - I was in High School when the Kids in the Hall was originally airing on Comedy Central here in the US, and things like “I’m Crushing Your Head” were as cool as Wayne’s World quotes. Wasn’t sure what to expect about the revival but I really loved it, a lot. Be warned if you watch it there is old man full frontal in uh, the first episode, lol. But seriously, it was great. And I’m flabbergasted and mad that it wasn’t nominated for an Emmy.

Only Murders in the Building S2 - I think S1 aired last year? Watching S2 now. What a delight this show is. As an Old, I grew up loving Steve Martin and Martin Short and they’re amazing here. I had no idea who Selena Gomez is before this show, and now I adore her. Enjoying S2 a lot.

For All Mankind S3 - I think I watched S1 & S2 at the end of last year, and except for that mindbogglingly terrible subplot at the end of the 2nd season, I really loved it. S3 has been likewise great so far. Even though the stupid subplot continues into S3. I’m a Margot and a Dani stan.

Mare of Easttown - When this was airing last year it felt like everyone was talking about it and how great it was, so I got around to watching it. It was, indeed, very good, with a resolution that was surprising but didn’t feel like came out of nowhere. Also more Jean Smart = good.

The White Lotus - I mean, I have HBO Max right now and this is another show people kept talking about when it was airing, so I watched it. Eehhh, it was okay. It was a good takedown of white people at their most white-people-ness. Don’t think it deserves the Emmy love it’s getting except for the guy who played the hotel manager.

The Umbrella Academy S3 - I keep up with TUA when it’s on, and enjoy it. Enjoyed S3 as well. Not as much as S2 but hey, enough to look forward to S4. Mostly glad this season Luther got over Allison, but Allison this season was uh... not great.

Stranger Things S4 - Just like most everyone else, watched ST4 and I did love it, though the criticisms of it is pretty valid, too. NGL, got pretty bored with the Eleven subplot in the first half and fast forwarded through it as I thought it was very obvious Henry = Vecna and it felt like otherwise we were rehashing a lot of other stuff. And the Russian Prison subplot could have been cut way down, too. But still, love Stranger Things. Can’t wait for S5.

Murderville - Will Arnett’s improv / cop comedy. Swung WILDLY in quality depending on who the guest of the week was. They were right to put Conan first and Kumail Nanjiani last so it started and ended on its strongest episodes. I adore Annie Murphy but it was uncomfortable watching her stumble through her episode. But I finished it and would watch a S2.

Resident Alien S2 - I think S1 was stronger so far, but still loving this show, and Alan Tudyk is great, so is his co-lead Sara Tomko. Could do with less Mayor and Mayor’s Wife who’s character’s names I can never ever remember, and more of everyone else.

Barry S2 & 3 - I watched S1 as it aired and never got around to picking up S2 or 3 until a few weeks ago. It’s very good, and very violent. Can’t believe they’re still gonna do a S4 after that S3 ending.

The Flight Attendant S1(ish) - I watched the first episode and thought... I am not into this enough to watch the rest of the season but I do want to know how it ends. So I skipped right over to the last two episodes. Maybe I’ll do the same with S2.

Gentleman Jack - Was interested in this from tumblr gifsets. Literally watched the first episode and a couple of hours later the cancellation was announced, lol. Overall, I enjoyed it but I hope Suranne Jones’ back is OK because she carried this show for all sixteen episodes. Anything focused on Anne Lister was great. But they could not write a subplot of side characters to SAVE A LIFE. The cast was great, (I mean they had Five himself Peter Davison!) with what they were given. But so many subplots either were messy, boring or went nowhere and were dropped without resolution. Still glad I watched it but... it feels like only Lister/Walker ever found its footing and everything else was... not there. I’d have kept watching, but not super upset it’s likely not going to happen.

Star Wars

Book of Boba Fett - I think I liked this series more than most when it was focusing on Boba Fett but also like... the criticism was fair. And yeah it felt more like a sub-show of The Mandalorian rather than its own thing in the end. It was quite cool seeing the whole gang, minus Cobb, fighting together in the finale. And also uh, this may be blasphemous, but I am slightly disappointed they brought Grogu back? I think they are victims to their own success if they don’t think the show can survive without Grogu, whereas I was kinda looking forward to Mando on his own. But I’ll enjoy Mando S3 either way, I think.

Even this review of BoBF became a review of The Mandalorian. *facepalm*

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Yeah it was messy blah blah but I really really loved Obi-Wan. We’d been waiting for Obi’s return forever and I think they did a great job making the show emotionally resonate. It was so great seeing Hayden back, too. And it also adds a little more emotional weight to ANH how too, with Obi-Wan having a relationship with Leia.

Star Trek

I watched all the Star Treks. Yesterday was the first NON-STAR TREK Thursday of this ENTIRE YEAR and I AM MAD ABOUT IT. Luckily Lower Decks S3 starts next month.

Prodigy S1.0 - There’s still more Prodigy S1 coming, but I am enjoying this show more than I thought I would, grading on the “It’s for children!” curve. NGL I am most invested in the Real Janeway & Chakotay stuff but the kids and Holo-Janeway are also great. Excited for more. And the Kobiyashi Maru episode was a fave, as well as the 1.0 finale.

(Rewatch) Picard S1 & then Picard S2 - I forgot most of what had happened in S1 so I rewatched it. I like it more than most people did, but I mean... there’s like no Star Trek I don’t like. S2 started strong, and I liked the ending, and a lot of what they did in the middle stumbled with some great moments and a few not so great. There were definite parts of S2 that... didn’t work. But it was also fun. Plus my Teenage Dream Crush (lol) showed up, which was a huge plus for me. And uhm... I am absolutely feral about what’s going to happen in S3.

Discovery S4 - I think Discovery had gotten stronger every season, and I again, have enjoyed every season. I do definitely agree I wish every season wasn’t universe-ending threats, and the bridge crew doesn’t get enough to do, but I mean... that doesn’t at all ruin my enjoyment of the show. I thought the universe-ending threat was at least new and original this year.

Strange New Worlds S1 - Ummm... yeah. It’s great. I’m mad about how great it is. It’s not my favorite of the New Treks (Lower Decks is probably my fave) but I do get why so many people say this is their favorite. REMEMBER THOUGH... we wouldn’t have this Pike, Spock and Una without Discovery S2.

MST3K

Mystery Science Theater 3000 S13 + Specials - I Kickstarted MST3k season 13 for uhhhh... more than I probably should have. I am really loving Season 13 so far. Jonah is great as always, I already adore Emily and her bots, and having Joel back in the riffing seat with J. Elvis by his side mashed the nostalgia button so hard. All the episodes have been hilarious, though some are more faves than others, but that’s normal. Really enjoying the “special events” too. Having something to do like, every other Friday by appointment has been nice, too. The chat is very friendly and actually funny. Ready to support them for as much as I can when S14 talk comes around.

The Mads Are Back - MST3k-related, Frank Coniff and Trace Belaiu have been doing monthly riffing livestreams since July 2020 and I’ve been to them all. So another monthly Tuesday night appointment. They also do a guest interview after each, which has been delightful. Was a big help early in the Pandemic to have another monthly “appointment” to look forward to, and I’m glad they’re keep on keeping on with the livestreams especially since Frank’s health problems. And I love that nearly all the old cast plus some of the new MST3k cast has come and hung out in the post-show with them. <3

Along with that, just rando, MST3K and Rifftrax episodes whenever I feel like it, often as white noise when I’m gaming or working.

Trashy Realtiy TV - I make no apologies. I don’t watch a lot of reality TV but I have watched these.

The Circle S4 - I just lilke the Circle, OK? Love is Blind S2 - It’s a dose of drama that I usually avoid. 70% of Love is Blind Japan S1 - Wanted to see the differences. I watched the pods and vacation part, skipped most of the “We’re back at our real lives!” episodes and just went and saw who made it to the altar and who said I do.

JUST STARTED:

The Other Two - Haven’t finished yet, but just wrapped up S1. A Sepinwall rec I wouldn’t have checked out otherwise. The Entertainment Industry Takedown stuff is kinda funny but nothing we haven’t seen before. What has made this show work so far is that yeah the mom + adult kids are very dysfunctional on their own but they love each other and their little brother a lot and that glue makes the show worth it for me.

Blood and Treasure S2 - I would not watch this show most likely but Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars (probably #3 on the call sheet I’d guess) and when a guy you kinda know is on TV, you usually wanna watch that guy being on TV. It’s a fun cheesy National Treasure like romp. This season was filmed in 2020 and JUST NOW BEING RELEASED and only on Paramount+ so we’re probably not gonna get more. The first two episodes released just this week so, we’ll see how the rest of the season goes. Mark’s character has his own subplot this season though so I’m excited for that.

Movies

TBH I don’t watch a lot of movies? There’s too many shows to watch. But I have watched these in the last 6 months...

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Everyone was talking about it so I wanted to experience it. As amazing as everyone said. I still think about it often. And get Absolutely Story of a Girl stuck in my head.

The Batman - Not a huge Batman fan, (like it’s FINE but whatever) but wanted to see Pattison’s take on it. Thought the movie was a little too long, and I came away with no strong feelings other than Pattison and Dano were both very good, and was excited to see Izzy Hands and Irving from Severance in the movie :v

Star Trek The Motion Picture - I’ve seen this like a half dozen times, and am always amazed at how many reaction shots of the cast’s face they padded the film with. Wanted to see the new enhanced visuals and cut. At least what they were gazing at for 15 minutes of the film’s runtime looked great. I need to finish rewatching the rest of the TOS movies. I’ve been saying that since I finished my All-ST Rewatch in 2020. SO I guess I didn’t actually FINISH that rewatch. Hm.

The Lost City - I truly don’t know why I watched this movie but I had finished whatever show I had been watching and didn’t want to start a new one yet so I watched this for no reason. Cast was good, movie was cheesy but also fun in a Romancing the Stone sort of way. Not great, but fun. Daniel Radcliffe makes a great villain.

Suicide Squad - I’m... trying... to watch the DC movies. I’ve only seen the two Wonder Woman movies, Batman vs.Superman and that first Superman movie, all when they came out. I’ve heard the second one and the Peacemaker show are great though so I’m trying to shove my way through the rest to that. Do I have to watch the Snyder cut? Anyway, this was fine, but felt like it was trying way too hard to be cool. Was entertaining at least.

Podcasts

I haven’t been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, tbh. Mostly I listen in the last hour before bed when I’m playing on my Switch and hanging out with Patchy.

The Taskmaster Podcast and Taskmaster: The People's Podcast - Yep been listening to the companion podcasts to Taskmater, too. The original TM podcast is hosted by Series 9 contestant Ed Gamble and it’s fantastic because he’s SUCH a fan of the show, and he’s a great interviewer. It’s a recap podcast, of the current episode if a series is airing or past series when one’s not.

The People’s Podcast is hosted by S8 contestant Lou Saunders + a guy who’s a fan (and a writer) who keeps meticulous stats of the show. Though there’s a bit of episode discussion it’s mostly a celebration of the fandom. Episodes are a bit more hit or miss depending on who the fan-guest is, but it’s a good effort and usually still entertaining. Especially loved them interviewing Norwegian Taskmaster Assistant Olli Wermskog <3

Hello From the Magic Tavern S4 + Patreon Bonus Content - I’ve been a fan of HFTMT since about episode 24 (When Craig Cackowski guest starred.) Through the years sometimes I’ve kept up, sometimes I’ve fallen months behind, but I have listened to it all, including the spinoff podcasts and signed up for the pateron on day 1. Still love these guys after all these years. If you want to listen to three guys and guests worldbuild a silly magical world, here you go. There’s like 400 episodes including spinoffs and Patreon content, you won’t run out any time soon.

The Delta Flyers - Technically as I’m a Pateron patron I watch the episodes online, not listen to them as a podcast. This is Robert Duncan McNeil (Tom Paris) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim’s) Voyager rewatch podcast, that they started as a pandemic project, and they’re now in season five. I really enjoy their takes, even when I don’t agree with them, and there’s so much BTS content. Also the bonus content includes really great interviews with the rest of the cast pretty often, guest stars, directors, writers, crew, producers etc etc. I pledge at a mid-teir level now and don’t regret it at all. I usually watch while working, and sometimes I get a few episodes behind. And also sometimes I have to rewatch the Voyager episode before listening to the podcast episode. But very worth it. Going to miss this one when they’re done.

The “To Watch / Catch up On” list: Counterpart You're the Worst Miracle Workers Zoey's Extradordinary Playlist Pen15 Derry Girls In Treatment We Are Lady Parts Girls 5eva Squid Game Succession Reservation Dogs Evil I May Destroy You Love Life Shadow and Bone Yellowjackets New Girl Wheel of Time Lovecraft Country Atlanta Watchmen Tuca and Bertie Sharp Objects Devs Yellowstone Gaslit Abbot Elementary Shining Girls The Orville

Catchup: Cobra Kai Downton Abbey (last season or two + movies) Rutherford Falls S2

I am taking suggestions.

And then there are a bunch of upcoming shows or shows with seasons that aired in like 2021 that I haven’t mentioned here to watch like, the Lord of the Rings show, and S2 of Leverage: Redemption not currently on this list that I will watch as they come out.

No idea how someone with an actual life squeezes in more show time. I’m still like 90% in quarantine still (thx immune system) so... at least I’ve got the time.

#television #movies #podcasts #i am not tagging shows individually that's way too much work #If you are looking for a media rec list here you go #media #personal post tag thingy

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yjwhatif · 2 years

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FROM THREE TO FOUR…

I wanna start this by saying I’m not someone who hated season 3 - I enjoyed it. It was my first experience watching the show live since I discovered it well after it got cancelled and I’m pretty sure S3 was already green lit to happen when I finished S2. It also pulled me into the fandom world and tumblr - which I am very much grateful for. So a lot of positives came from it… also how can I hate something that spark my unexpected love for a character I never thought we’d see again let alone get actual development for — my dear, dear Eduardo… I love him and it’s all season 3’s fault - literally the one (and only) problem I’m having with s4 is the fact that ED HASN’T TURNED UP YET AND I MISS HIM!!! 🥺Anyway…

While I won’t hate on it - I do acknowledge it had serious problems with a number of elements and with the progress of season 4 - more of those problems come to light in a much clearer way. When the second half of S3 was airing I was actually watching from week to week, after having alway being able to binge watch, this has an effect on the viewing experience. Part of me always wonders if 3A only felt stronger and less problematic because I didn’t have to wait for each episode, also those eps were released 3 at a time to match the structuring of the story arcs - which helps with the sense of pacing. I don’t think the switch from 3 eps a week to 1 was a very good idea (likely not a decision controlled by Greg and Brandon), the episode were fine in the moment, but then you finished and kinda felt like not much had happened - at least I did anyway and I stilling remember that feeling whenever I’m rewatching it now. In pacing terms I think two a week would have felt more substantial for 3b with how it was structured story wise - there would have been enough content without it feeling too little - but still leave you wanting more. The release scheduled for s4 is working a lot better and proves that 1 a week can actually work - something I think is helped by know we’re having 4 episoded character focused arcs. When each episode ends it leaves the mind buzzing with what might happen next but keeps you anchored down within the specific arc. You don’t have the disappointment of spending a week expecting to carry on exploring a certain group or plot but actually getting an episode about something/one entirely different - that works when binging as a whole but not so much on a week to week basis. I’m having no problems this time with the release schedule and am very much with Greg when he says it’s nice to able to sit with an episode for a week over binging it all at once. You can binge it whilst waiting for s5. 🤞

One of the next common problems with S3 was the violence. For me, though I do prefer action/danger explored in a less gory way, I don’t recall ever having much of a reaction to the violence when I originally watched it. However, hearing others talk about it and seeing it more - I absolutely understand the problems with it. Just because you can show as much blood and gore as you want - doesn’t mean you have too or should. A lesson they have seemingly learned with s4. Yes we still have blood and violence - but it is much more fitting for the moment - instead of violence for violence sake. There’s a sense to it, while in S3 you are left thinking - was there maybe another way to portray that. It’s also more spread out at the minute compared to everything always happening to Violet. The imbalance of s3’s violence made the moments where others actually did get hurt forgettable because they were diluted by Violet’s always getting hurt - which takes away the impact these moments should elicit. But thankfully the scales have been reset with s4 and things seem to be going well… for now. I remember a comment I had on the trailer was that there seemed to be a lot of blood present in a number of the shots, part of me was wary of how the circumstances leading to that blood would be portrayed, though, now we’ve seen those moments I am completely satisfied with what they did. The image of that guard essentially turned inside out by Child in the jewellery shop was horrifying yet beautiful all at the same time - it was art - and says so much about Child without even needing to show us the event or her reaction to it. You can just imagine it and understand how much of a threat she is going to be - I am both really excited and absolutely terrified of the trouble she is going to cause. #prayforklarion

Ok so this may be a weird one that only bothered me and might not even make sense - but I’m gonna say it anyway. It’s when they had characters front and centre in scenes but not speaking - it always annoyed me and I still don’t fully understand why. Obviously, because this is animation there are two separate elements that make the physical characters we see - voice and visuals - each of which come with their own costs, so naturally creative decisions have to be made to portray the story in a cost effective way. All of which I have no problem with. The problem I have is that for some reason in season 3 specifically it was really noticeable in a way it shouldn’t have been. Whenever a character wouldn’t speak it always came across as a money decision rather that a character decision which would take me out of the moment… A couple examples are - Tim Drake obviously, it’s kinda become a joke now that Tim never has any lines - which kinda sucks because I think he is a really interesting character. This still hasn’t changed in s4 since he’s had two appearances now and not uttered a sound. Y’know, i don’t think he’s spoken since his “anti-light” comment when Wonder Woman snapped at him - I think Diana left a lasting affect. Tim deserves to speak - I really want to know what’s going inside his head - especially with everything he went through in s3. Then there’s Brion who had it a few times, the dude never shuts up - whether that’s complaining, bragging, moaning, mocking - he always has something to say. So when he’s on that Klarion mission in Cuba and is completely silent, I can’t help but think it’s a little out of character. A similar thing can be said for Bart in that same episode - though an argument could be made that grieving Joan put him in a quiet mood - but we know from Ed that he, Bart and Jaime had be chatting after the funeral - so clearly he wasn’t in that much of a quiet mood. Also he just found out his boyfriend - I mean - Ed is joining the Outsiders and he’s got nothing to say about that - no congratulations - no crash - no nothing. I don’t buy it because it doesn’t fit the characters personality which takes me out of the world I’m watching. Though of course, there are times it does work - like Tim’s leaving Cassie in s3e1 - that worked really well. Also Violet and Vic in s3e26, actually wasn’t too noticeable either - despite their having been pretty important characters throughout the season. I don’t mind them having characters not speak - they’ve done it in the other seasons and it’s never bothered me - but sometimes it just doesn’t fit and that makes me aware I’m watching a show instead of experiencing a world. Anyway, I’m probably the only one bothered by this - so moving on to the s4 counterpoint…

Season 4 seems to have really found it’s footing again since the cancellation hiatus or maybe just got a bigger budget - because it really fixes the problem I had above by giving voices to minor characters. For example, in ep 9, that little bit with Andy (Mist) and Blue Devil talking about why she’s doing Gar’s chores - was so good and makes me happy every time I watch it. Andy has one line and in the one line we get a lot of insight on her - she’s kind and caring enough to tackle that disgusting fridge without argument, it was her choice not Gars request meaning she’s aware of the people around her, she’s seemingly living in the Premier building - if not, spends a lot of time there - to be on the chores rota, she’s settled in as a member of the group which shows a lot of growth since last we saw her in S3 - as well as giving us more information about Gar and introducing Blue Devil… Who actually seems to be a competent Den Mother for once - I love what we saw of him and I would like more please. Anyway, back to my point, by having these smaller characters moments the world feels so much bigger and lived in because our focus characters are interacting with other people and not just spouting out info to an unresponsive face. It feels so like season 2 again and I’m really enjoying that a lot. I want to feel immersed in the world and not aware that I’m watching a screen - because it highlights the skill of the writing/direction and makes for the best experience that leaves you wanting more.

And with that I’m gonna leave it there - a new overly long post about random things which live in my brain. Overall, season 3 had its problems - but it was a show retuning from a long hiatus for a new platform with a different age range and freedom to do things it wasn’t allowed to do before - there’s naturally gonna be a transition period as they regain their footing and find their stride again. Season 4 shows they’ve done that - all the previous problems seem to have been ironed out and fixed to create a much stronger season which still feels connected to its seasons 1&2 roots, whilst also having its own signature style. Let’s hope it continues…

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ginjointsintheworld · 3 years

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I don’t really remember Iggy and Martin talking about the secret baby things other than at that one therapy session with Iggy’s student though? Unless I’m wrong. Sometimes they build up huge issues for half or whole seasons then just fix them in one episode and it’s never mentioned again. Like Iggy and the severer baby and Max and the custody battle for Luna last season. I don’t really get why they tackle these huge things knowing they’re not going to give the resolution half the same investment as they gave the problem. I’m really hoping Lauren and Leyla don’t get this treatment because their conflict isn’t something that should be glossed over just so they end up together.

i wanted to wait until i finished watching the end of the secret adoption arc before i answered this to be properly refreshed, but i have to respectfully disagree with you on these two storylines, anon.

i think the way they resolved iggy and martin's issues was done in a pretty satisfying way, at least for me. the entirety of iggy's screen time in 2x10 was dedicated to sitting down and talking with martin honestly and raw about the core of what drives iggy to do things like this and addressed martin's insecurities as well in the relationship. like, i'm not gonna lie, i'd give an arm and leg for leyla and lauren to be able to sit down and talk openly like that for the entirety of an episode. plus from what i remember moving forward, iggy doesn't really do anything like this again, or at least in the personal sense that it would impact his family life. so i'm not sure it would have made sense or them to continue discussing it past this point? i'd actually argue that the natural second act of this storyline was addressing iggy's eating disorder and body image because his lack of self worth was what drove him to overcompensate by constantly doing good deeds. the eating disorder storyline has actually been running in parallel since s1 so that groundwork has been there for a long time. if anything, what the writers might have left hanging/unfinished is the idea of iggy being narcissistic but i have to finish watching s2 to make that call.

as for max's custody battle storyline, i think that was resolved in a fairly solid manner too. it all culminated during arbitration when georgia's parents got everything off their chest about why they were pursing custody of luna and tbh i think those were things max needed to hear. can we say the grandparents didn't have a point when they said max wasn't thinking about luna when he ran into a room full of chemicals and nearly orphaned her? that max never put georgia first and she died knowing that? after rewatching s1, i genuinely do not think an argument can be made against that. max was still at the hospital doing medical director duty while undergoing carpet bombing equivalent of chemo instead of resting at home and prioritizing getting better for his family. georgia literally tells max at one point, 'i will not have my daughter growing up thinking she's not the most important thing in her father's life.' max needed to be confronted with all of that. so when he shows up at the grandparents' doorstep he's resolved in being better and more present for luna and we as an audience understand that he's willing to put the ugliness of this custody battle behind them because they are one of luna's last connections to georgia and he doesn't want luna to lose that. now i will say is, it's debatable whether the writers have shown max prioritizing luna yet but the custody battle storyline was resolved 1 episode before the s3 finale so it's still relatively new. and i guess it's what they're trying to do with the london storyline but that's a different set of muddled waters.

so all's this to say, yes, i don't think lauren and leyla's conflict should be glossed over. but i also don't think the writers have such a bad track record that i'd inherently distrust them to reasonably handle it.

#anon #asks

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qqueenofhades · 3 years

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i absolutely adored the crows in the show??? like they looked exactly like how i pictured them??? except for some reason i always pictured inej bangs and her hair cut to her chin, but!!! she carried inej exactly how i imagined and was perfect in literally every aspect. can we get a show with them please??? ben was awesome as the darkling, of course, genya was incredible, and even zoya!! mal and alina, on the other hand.........eh?? they were just okay??? like their acting was just okay 😬 what did you think!! did you like the actors???

I did enjoy the crows a lot, yes! As noted, they were the ones that I was most invested in coming into the show, and I think that overall, they really did do a good job in translating them to screen. Jesper is probably my favourite, as he was in the books, and I am waiting impatiently for Wylan to arrive in s2 so the two of them can be messy queer boys together. Inej was lovely, as expected. IMHO, they definitely softened Kaz down quite a bit from his book counterpart, but I liked the actor anyway and as I noted in some earlier ask or another, it was funny to watch them run around like chaotic himbos, be gay and do crimes, achieve absolutely bugsquat nothing whatsoever, and get to make friends with Milo the goat while they were at it. It’ll be interesting to see how they blend Siege & Storm and SOC (which I assume they will do next season, with Ruin & Rising and CK being s3, should we get that far).

Of course, NINA AND MATTHIAS. I’m doing a rewatch (just finished episode 7, preparing myself for Pain on this front in episode 8) and as ever, they FULLY own me. Also, cannot stop cackling over the fact that you are Matthias Helvar. You are unconscious on a piece of wood in the middle of a giant-ass thunderstorm after your ship broke up and your nasty colleagues who look like that one guy in Pirates of the Caribbean that Will Turner fails to blow up have deservedly drowned. Your captive, who you have chained up, said dumb things to, and otherwise given her no reason to like you, decides to save you partly because a) she’s a good person and b) she needs your help. You wake up, immediately fall directly off the raft into the frothing ocean, bellow “WITCH!” at the top of your lungs while flailing pointlessly, accuse her of being the problem, and have another argument before you agree to try to swim both of you to shore. If nothing else, you are consistent. You are also very stupid. Also, every time she talks, you gaze at her with literal hearts for eyes and then say something else face-palmingly idiotic. Your goose is so cooked. Alas.

(I love them. The end of CK is not canon in this house and never will be.)

As for Mal and Alina, aha, hmm. I’m not at all invested in them as a couple (I don’t mind them or anything, I just don’t have any feelings about them and it seems like a lot of telling vs. showing). Also, it’s my own opinion that they really don’t develop much as a pairing over the course of the series? They start out in one place and end up pretty much in the exact same place at the end. Of course, I am the messy bitch who prefers enemies to lovers and complicated relationships and Angst rather than childhood-friends-to-lovers, so that’s me. (Also the kid who plays Mal is like... 17, and I’m 32, so it would be a little weird if I was attracted to a teenager.) Plus book!Mal annoyed me in Siege and Storm to the point where I wondered why on earth Alina was still with this guy, so if that happens in s2, I will run out of patience with him real fast. I recognize they’ve also changed the character for the TV series, so we’ll see how that goes, and I think both actors did a decent job. They’re both young and these are their first big roles and they didn’t take me out of the story or anything. I also enjoyed Jessie Mei Li’s chemistry with Ben Barnes (obviously) and staring at Ben Barnes every time he was on screen. Me have smrt thoughts. Smrt.

Anyway. Yes.

#shadow and bone spoilers #anonymous #ask

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aragima · 4 years

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hannibal questions! 🍖🔪

@nietzscheantrout @horrorlesbians and @hanniba1 wanted me to answer these hannibal questions and i wrote too much but oh well! thanks to all 3 of you ilu!!!

favorite episode and why: oh we’re just goin straight to the hard questions huh um OKAY so i think i can only do an ep a season - s1: SORBET SUPREMACY! you get to see the exact moment will looks at hannibal and thinks “.........shit. it’s him isn’t it. he’s The One. SHIT.” and that is so important to me - s2: this one is really hard maybe naka-choko? it’s so fucking gay and sexy. but tome-wan... but mizumono............ yeah idk - s3: torn between digestivo and the wrath of the lamb cuz they both hurt SOOO good much; i love will breaking up with hannibal and hannibal manipulating the situation so will can’t leave asldkjansk it’s so toxic we have to stan..... and for twotl i mean do i really have to give a reason every scene LIVES in my mind and it contains my favorite shot in the whole show:

that is LOVE baby! that is DESIRE! that is being ENTHRALLED!!!!

least favorite episode and why: i feel like they’re all so necessary that it’s kind of impossible to say but probably antipasto. i get sick of hannibal and bedelia’s shenanigans really quickly and as much as i hate to admit it... i miss will. i also think it was an extremely weak season opener and i blame it for getting the show canceled sjshshsgsg the resentment...

favorite side character: chiyoh or jimmy or actually wait— RANDALL TIER 🖤

if you could bring back one character who died, who would it be?: RANDALL FUCKING TIER. i want there to be a weird thing with him and hannibal and will going on. but also i love what his death did for will so idfk, other than him it’s gotta be beverly

dish prepared in the show that you would like to try eating/making: i was supposed to make hannibal’s osso bucco recipe like 3 weeks ago but it completely slipped my mind so i guess i’ll get on that my next grocery trip

which side character would you kill off?: chilton just because for god’s sake just let the man DIE ALREADY poor guy <- i’m taking ava’s answer because YEAH

was there any scene that you didn’t like to look at?: nah. the skin ripping scenes at the beginning of either kaiseki or sakizuki (idk i don’t remember, i hardly watch s2a) are particularly brutal but i tough it out

biggest ship: i mean do i even have to say

why did you start watching hannibal?: my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and her dad were watching it as it was airing and i was like “oh cool hannibal lecter origin story” but due to inconsistent access to the episodes i would just watch it randomly and that is... not the way to watch hannibal. i gave up around the end of s2 but knew hannigram was It regardless. i decided to watch s3 for the first time earlier this year just to have finished it and was like HOLD UP and did an immediate rewatch that left me... well, how i am now

favorite hannibal fic if you’ve read any?:

oh boy. yall ready for this? all of these can be found on ao3 obviously (i’m so sorry this is so long but i guess i’ve been asked to put together a fic rec anyway)

as soft, as wide as air by blackknightsatellite, the ladders series by emungere, blackbird by emungere, consenting to dream series by emungere, taken for rubies by emungere, at first meeting by emungere, protect me from what i want by @alienfuckeronmain, god of the cold, cold wars by highermagic, the abyss smiled back by highermagic, pomegranate seeds by highermagic, absolute zero by highermagic, in the truly gruesome do we trust by sidnihoudini, TKO by sidnihoudini, oh dear by lunarwench, each according to its kind by chapparral_crown, a flood in our hearts by nanoochka, let me sinful be by darlingred, uncomplicated by stratumgermanitivum & youaremydesign, good bones by @damnslippyplanet, like they do in babylon by @damnslippyplanet, your obedient servant by kareliasweet, past our satellites by shotgunsinlace, only the tender meat by isagel, the shape of me will always be you by missdisoriental, a white-walled room by rodabonor, spleen et idéal by rodabonor, the paper doll series by rodabonor, a common point of interest by rodabonor [i do NOT like a/b/o stuff but if i did... it’s this fic], just thought you should know by earthsickwithoutyou, the sacrificial lamb by princesskay, transcendent suffering by itsbeautiful, not something polite by moistdrippings, leave your message after the tone by onewhositswithturtles, holes in the floor of the mind by feverdreamblood, crossing caina by feverdreamblood, the archipelago series by melusine10, but seas between us braid hae roar’d by kareliasweet

have you watched any of the hannibal films?: yeah all of them except manhunter! i grew up watching silence of the lambs because my mom loved it and i went thru a big edward norton phase as a teen so i’ve seen red dragon like 10 times

have you read the thomas harris books?: no and i’m not going to lmao #fakefan

favorite murder tableau: if we’re talking just hannibal’s- the judge. if we’re talking Murder Bad But Kinda Pretty like in general probably the mushroom people or the totem

favorite blood spill: will imagining hannibal while he beats randall to death or The Gutting of Will Graham

what’re some of your headcanons?: - will is good at shibari (backed up in canon: his fishing knots, the firefly man’s full body hishi karada harness) - hannibal rarely listens to modern, non-classical music but he’s a björk fan and he saw one of her chapel performances during the vespertine era and was Moved - will listens to classic rock (zeppelin, the doors, pink floyd) with some classic country (patsy, merle, johnny) and blues (billie, muddy, bessie) thrown in. he’s also a sucker for early/mid-90s college rock/alternative/grunge - will plays the piano (because of the piano in his living room) and the harmonica (because he’s country white trash); he’s kind of shit tho - hannibal fell for will somewhere between “my thoughts are often not tasty” and “you won’t like me when i’m psychoanalyzed” (love at first sight! at last sight! at ever and ever sight!!!) - will’s circumcised, hannibal isn’t 🤪 - hannibal’s a gemini!!!! adaptable, creative, intelligent, outgoing, impulsive, etc - will’s an aquarius!!!!! analytical, a loner, temperamental, unique, compassionate, etc - will’s mom was jewish go read my fic about it https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774326 - hannibal is an agender man (tbh i think of this as canon, it’s just unstated/undefined) - hannibal can speak russian, spanish, and a teensy bit of portuguese in addition to the other languages we know he speaks (lithuanian, english, french, italian, japanese) - will speaks limited amounts of french; he learned it as a kid in louisiana - ED TW will sometimes has a Difficult relationship with food due to food instability by the way of poverty as a kid and goes through periods where it’s hard to keep himself fed, but hannibal is so good for him in that way because he keeps him from going hungry 😓 (yes this is me projecting but also it makes SENSE) - hannibal typically bottoms but THEY DEFINITELY ARE BOTH VERS and will never stops being surprised by how much he loves catching a dick. every time is like religious experience. okay? okay - they’re also both very kinky and switches but tbh.... will was made to Dom hannibal like that’s the reason he exists he could drag that old bitch around by a leash and hannibal would be in heaven HANNIBAL WOULD CALL HIM SIR - the first time they have sex hannibal comes like immediately but he isn’t embarrassed because he’s hannibal fucking lecter and hannibal lecter doesn’t get embarrassed - i have a hc for their favorite sex positions but i’m not gonna put that here because i don’t want yall calling me crazy any more than you probably already do but if you wanna know just DM me all i do is think about them fucking it’s a curse - okay no more dirty stuff abigail called hannibal “dad” on more than one occasion and it was half-joking but it also felt comfortable to her; she never thought to call will “dad” because he’s a weirdo and never knew her as much as he knew his idea of her - hannibal taught her to play piano at the cliff house - beverly is pansexual!!! - brian and jimmy kissed one time when they were drunk and they NEVER talk about it EVER - chiyoh is straight probably. i know, i know, everyone says she’s a lesbian and if she’s a lesbian to you that’s awesome! she’s a lesbian! but idk i just think she’s SO fucking straight and tbh i mourn bc that’s my wife. she could MAYBE be bicurious... - chiyoh is non-monogamous and doesn’t do serious relationships, she doesn’t like the idea of being tied to one person ever since she left the lecter castle - she helped hannibal and will escape after The Fall; she told hannibal she would continue to watch over him and i think she did, she got them a boat and got them the fuck out of there - MOLLY IS DOING SO MUCH BETTER WITHOUT WILL. SHE’S SO GLAD SHE GOT OUT OF THAT WHEN SHE DID. she has a good, long talk with alana and finds out all the shit about him and hannibal that will never told her (and it was a lot), gets drunk and burns all his shit, and then washes her hands of the whole thing; moves to a different state, gets a girlfriend, and never thinks about will again

okay i’m capping it there or i’m never gonna stop!! i’m not tagging anyone cuz i think everyone has done this by now lmao but if you’re a mutual who hasn’t and you want to just do it and say i tagged you!! mwah!!!!

#blood #long post #hannigram fic rec #hc

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alyblacklist · 4 years

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Hi Aly! Could you share your story on Keenler? (Like when did you start to ship them, when, if you liked Tom, etc). Hope you and your family are safe!

Hi anon! We’re doing fine, thanks. Tired of being cooped up, but fine!

My Keenler story is... my husband discovered The Blacklist season 1 on Netflix at some point while season 2 was airing. I came in while he was watching Wujing, enjoyed the show but was super confused about who was who and what was what, so I made him start over from the Pilot to catch me up and we continued together from there. I loved Ressler - and Diego! - from the beginning, and gradually grew to love the idea of Keenler from all the little moments across S1 from the Stewmaker hug to her showing up at his door in the Kingmaker. We finished season 1 and then bought a season pass on iTunes for Season 2 while it was still airing. I remember watching The Longevity Initiative (2.17) and that was when I first started seeking out a fan community on the internet because I was looking for spoilers on whether Keenler had kissed yet (looking back I laugh at myself that we’re still waiting but..). That was when I spoiled myself on the S2 finale/on the run which had just aired, learned the ship name, found my first fanfics, and eventually found Tumblr after pretty quickly giving up on FB groups. I joined Tumblr right after I watched the S2 finale because it was pretty clear that all the other sites were getting their news and gifs from here, did a full rewatch of S1 & S2 that summer, lurked until the following fall while quickly learning a whole lot about the fandom and the different ships and camps, and then finally jumped in made my first post here in the late fall of S3 because I couldn’t resist jumping in any longer.

I never liked Tom, but I found him an intriguing villain in S1 as his spy story unraveled and didn’t mind him. I thought his character was interesting so far as that story went, and I rooted for Liz so hard as she worked to find out the truth, I liked his scenes with Jolene etc.. I was pleased when Liz shot him in the S1 finale and very disappointed when I learned in S2 that he had survived. Still, Liz and Tom were on the outs and so I was somewhat indifferent to his character. He was there, less interesting than before, but still tied to Berlin (and possibly to her past) and all that so that was something. I was happy when he walked away to go join the Germans and hoped we’d seen the last of him. We all know how that went, but through all of it - I never believed for one hot second that he and Liz would be a couple again. They just seemed doomed from the start and the relationship was so unhealthy, Red hated him, kept warning about him, etc. And Liz had annulled the marriage! I thought she was finally starting to open her eyes by Longevity. And then we had that stupid boat sex scene in the finale, and I raged at the TV, but yet - I still never in my wildest dreams imagined Liz would stoop to taking him back, much less crawl back on bended knee, remarry the man and all that followed (and I to this day don’t think she would have if Megan hadn't gotten pregnant and they weren’t trying to build that disastrous spinoff around his character). As Tom’s role grew in the back half of S3 and S4, I came to hate his character, the demeaning of Liz to “redeem” him, and to resent the screen time that he took away from the characters I preferred, especially Ressler. I have never in all my years of watching TV been more happy to see a character finally get killed, that’s the honest truth, and I look forward to the day that Liz takes that final step to moving on with her life and embraces new, healthier love.

Probably a longer answer than you wanted! Thanks for the ask.

#keenler #anti-tom keen #long post

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yekokataa · 3 years

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Reviewed: my year in books, movies, tv, and podcasts.

for posterity, a long post about the media I enjoyed (or had thoughts about) this year

TV (drama):

The Leftovers - alright, technically I watched most of this in 2019, but I wrapped it up in Jan 2020 so I’m including it here. Wow am I glad that I watched this one before the pandemic happened because parts of the premise would hit completely different now. It’s an amazing series, but it’s hard to recommend something with the premise that 2% of the world’s population has suddenly disappeared. Watch it, but do so with caution or wait a couple years.

Better Call Saul S5 - BCS continues to be a beautifully dramatic character study that takes its time with its characters.

Westworld S3 and Devs - both near future sci fi tackling determinism, a major influence on my writing this year

Watchmen - Good, and worth watching, but it's very heavy and I struggled to finish this one. Deals with a lot of very relevant race issues.

Raised by Wolves - beautiful, dark, haunting, mystical. AIs are sent to a remote planet with human fetuses to repopulate humanity after Earth tears itself apart with constant religious wars.

Run - watched because of Pheobe Waller-Bridge's involvement. A strong start, interesting premise, and great casting, but loses its way halfway through (and was subsequently cancelled)

Dark s3 - I love everything about this German time travel series. Highly, highly recommended.

TV (comedy):

Avenue 5 - verdict: decently funny. Zach Woods is like a chaotic, outgoing version of Jared who deals with his inner darkness in the completely opposite way from how Jared does.

Middleditch & Schwartz - so funny, a bright spot of light this year and something I re-watch when I need a mood boost. I would love to see them live if I ever can in the future.

Community (rewatch) - what a treasure this show is. (up to season 6, that is)

The Umbrella Academy s2 - it maintains all the reasons season 1 was great and improves on them.

How to Sell Drugs Online Fast s2 - I love everything about this funny, topical German series about two teenagers who accidentally become dark web drug kingpins.

Ugly Delicious s2 - feels like sitting around having a good meal with your most interesting friends.

App:

TikTok gets a tv-adjacent honorable mention for being the only app that made me laugh and boosted my mood every time I opened it.

Movies:

The Gentlemen - I've seen this film accurately described as "Guy Ritchie makes a Guy Ritchie film" - it's a return to form for his early London gangster films, but with a bigger budget.

The Shape of Water - what a beautiful film. I was almost distracted from the plot because of how visually rich it is. A re-watch for sure.

Uncut Gems - you'll only find this movie stressful if you care at all about the fate of the main character, which I did not. He sucks. Good film, in spite of the fact that everyone is shouting over each other the entire time.

T2 Trainspotting - a deeply fan servicey 20-years-later follow-up that still manages to be tonally appropriate, emotionally resonant, and funnier than the first film. You know what you're getting yourself into if you've seen the first one, but I was still caught off guard by a couple thoroughly disgusting bodily-function related scenes, as is only appropriate. I am a sucker for any movie that can pack as many human emotions as possible into one film (disgust included), and this one checks the boxes on that for me.

Books:

Exhalation by Ted Chiang - short sci fi stories. Every one is a gut punch or brain punch in the best way possible. It fucked me up and made me think. Highly recommended.

Fall, or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson - Stephenson writes old testament fanfic. I enjoyed it, and it touches on some really interesting ideas, but it could have benefited from stronger editing and maybe being cut down to like 75% shorter.

Locke & Key by Joe Hill (graphic novel series) - skip the Netflix adaptation and read this version. Joe Hill is the pseudonym of Stephen King's son, and the influence is clear once you see it.

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden - This is book 3 of the Winternight Trilogy. The entire series is great.

The Magicians series by Lev Grossman (reread) - unpopular opinion: skip the tv series or forget anything you know about it and read this instead. It's so clever and sharply funny. There are so many themes you can draw from it, but to me, it's fundamentally about the struggle of adulthood and self-actualization.

Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling by Phillip Pullman - I love seeing an inside view of the writing process from an author I love. Somewhat illuminating as to the religious influences in his work which completely flew over my head as a child.

Podcasts:

2020 was the year where my normal podcast listening got disrupted by no longer commuting and for some reason I gravitated to only screenwriting or cybersecurity podcasts. Because this post has gotten so long I have completely run out of steam to talk about why I like these so I'm just going to list them instead.

The Screenwriting Life - Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

Scriptnotes - John August and Craig Mazin

Smashing Security - Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault

Cyber - Vice

#year in review #personal #review #film #television #books #podcasts

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theastrophilearchitect · 3 years

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March TBR/W.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I want to consume in March 2021.

-Hence ‘TBR/W’ - to-be-read/watched.

I’m not usually a fan of pre-planning my media for the month - I plan out all my media obsessively, but doing it by month seems a little too much like setting deadlines for my taste, and I’m sure I’ll somehow manage to turn watching tv into a chore. Regardless, it’s worth a shot, so this is going to be a rough guide - I’m going to pick four of each category, one per week, because I’d rather underestimate and surpass than overestimate and have to defer things to the next month. So let’s go.

Books

1. Skyward and 2. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is set in a future where the human race is on the verge of extinction, trapped on a planet constantly attacked by alien warriors. Spensa, a teenage girl stuck on the planet, wants to be a pilot, but it seems far-off. Then, she finds the wreckage of a ship that appears to have a soul, and she must figure out how to repair it, and persuade it to help her navigate flight school.

In truth, I mainly want to read this because of how highly it’s been praised by Hailey in Bookland on YouTube. I actually tried reading Sanderson’s Mistborn series a couple years ago, and just didn’t click with it. I love fantasy, but I can pretty confidently say epic fantasy just isn’t for me. However, Sanderson’s work is adored by many, and Skyward and its sequel Starsight appeal so much more to me, and I can’t wait to get to them.

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This is Maas’s first technically-adult book; Throne of Glass is young adult, ACOTAR being classed either as young or new adult. I’ve been a fan of Maas for a long time, and, though I enjoy her books less now than I have in the past due to how seriously they tend to take themselves, I’d still love to read this one. Where her previous series were both fantasies, this sits somewhere between that and a sci-fi, but I can’t say as-of-yet what I think, because I haven’t read it yet.

Bryce Quinlan finds herself investigating her friends’ deaths in an attempt to avenge them after they were taken from her by a demon. Hunt Athalar is a Fallen angel, enslaved by Archangels, forced to assassinate their enemies, when he’s offered a deal to assist Bryce in exchange for his freedom.

4. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I listened to this as an audiobook in 2019 as part of BookTuber Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, and didn’t hugely get along with it in truth. The audiobook was excellent as an audiobook, but the story Ian’s I just didn’t really vibe. I think I just want to like this book, so I think it’s worth a reread to see if my opinion changes.

This follows Citra and Rowan, a reluctant pair of apprentice Scythes - in a utopian future where humanity has the means to live forever, it is the job of the Scythes to control the population by essentially reaping the souls of those they choose to die. Neither Citra or Rowan want it, but I don’t remember enough about this book to say any more.

Audiobooks

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you either already know what this series is about, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirteen years. I read this book for the first time nearly seven years ago, and it’s stuck with me. It sent me into a phase of only reading dystopian books (The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was part of this, and was the series that really got me into reading), but this was the main one that stuck with me.

It contains a powerful message about capitalism and discrimination, and this is the second time I’ve listened to the audiobooks, though the god-only-knows-what time I’ve read the series. I listened to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in February, which automatically puts this on my to-listen for March.

2. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman

This is a novella bind-up set in the Shadowhunters world, that I would imagine has quite a bit to do with the Shadow Market, an aspect of the Downworld introduced in The Dark Artifices, which I finished in January.

In truth, I’m mainly planning to listen to this audiobook because it’s the only Shadowhunters novella bind-up with an audiobook, and I’d just rather read additions to the main Shadowhunters series in this format rather than physically.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

This is a Hunger Games prequel that was released early last year, and I just wasn’t going to read it. I heard several reviews, the general consensus of which was basically that it’s not as good as the trilogy and is somewhat unnecessary, but, in truth, my curiosity’s got the better of me, especially since I started listening to the trilogy’s audiobooks again.

This prequel follows Coriolanus Snow as a mentor in the Games before he became President of Panem and the wonderful villain of the original trilogy.

4. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I mentioned this in my physical TBR post a couple weeks ago, but have decided to listen to the audiobook instead. A few weeks ago, I’d started to run out of audiobooks I wanted to listen to, and didn’t want to read anything on my regular TBR in this format, including this book. But, I went through a load of audiobook recommendations, and this was one of them, so it joined my to-listen.

I’m not hugely into contemporary books, but I’ve wanted to get more into the genre for a while, and this was the first one to join my TBR.

This novel follows Eliza Mirk, your typical high school outcast, who publishes a hugely popular web comic under the pseudonym LadyConstellation. Then Wallace Warland, the biggest fanfic writer of her comic transfers to her school and begins to draw her out of her shell.

TV Shows

Before I go into my list, I’d like to mention that I am currently watching WandaVision and am definitely planning to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, but both come out on a weekly basis, so aren’t being included on this list. Also, I’ve been watching way too much YouTube recently, so I’m not sure I’ll get through all of these this month, especially since I’m watching the Arrowverse shows, which have such long seasons.

1. Love, Victor Season 1

This Love, Simon spin-off follows a character named Victor at Creekwood (I think that’s the name?) High School. I saw Love, Simon twice in cinemas when it was released, and, miraculously, it made me cry. I love that movie.

This series was released last year on Hulu, which is only available in the US, but as of February 23rd, it’s one of the shows that came to Disney+ as part of Star.

2. The Flash Season 1

As mentioned, I’ve started watching the DC Arrowverse shows. I watch tv shows through alternating seasons - as in, I watch season 1 of show A, then season 1 of show B, then 2 of A, etc., then when I finish one, I start watching show C - but I’m treating the Arrowverse as one show (even though it isn’t) so it’s not the only thing I’m watching. So this is technically Arrowverse S3, preceded by Arrow S1+2 (though I haven’t actually started S2 as of writing this because of how much YouTube I’ve been watching, so I’ll be finishing that first).

I genuinely don’t know that much about most DC superheroes, Flash included, but I’m going into this having been assured it takes itself less goddamn seriously than Arrow. It’s my sister’s favourite Arrowverse show, and I can’t wait.

3. Dare Me Season 1

I added this Netflix show to my watchlist when it came out, and my basic understanding is that it focuses on the cheerleaders at a high school, and begins when a new coach arrives. It focuses on the psychological damage behind competitive cheerleading, and I’m not convinced I’m going to love it, but I think it’s worth a shot.

4. Arrow Season 3

I’m so confused by this poster. This is specifically the season 3 poster, and I’m so confused, but I’m sure it’ll make more sense when I watch the season.

I explained the weird way I’m watching Arrowverse (named as such because Arrow was the first show in it) already, but Arrow follows Oliver Queen, the son of one of the billionaires of Starling City upon his return after being stuck for five years on an island when a cruise ship carrying him and his father sunk. His father left him with a list of names of the people ‘corrupting’ the city, and Oliver takes it upon himself to assume a vigilante identity and take them down.

Movies

I’m not a huge movie-watcher, but I end up compiling so many to watch that, to ensure I get round to them, I watch a movie every time I finish a tv show season. I’m also currently re-watching the MCU movies in chronological order.

1. Instant Family

This is just something that came onto Netflix recently and I thought might be entertaining, and so it joined my list.

This follows a couple who decide to adopt a teenager, only to find out she has two more siblings.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

This is just a continuation of my MCU re-watch - I love this movie. I love Guardians of the Galaxy, full stop (on another note, I just generally don’t understand why British people call it a full stop and Americans call it a period. Neither name makes particular sense).

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

And here we have another continuation of my MCU rewatch. I honestly think this is my favourite Avengers movie, because the whole teams actually together, and Wanda, Scarlet Witch, is introduced - I love her. I really didn’t like Vision until WandaVision came out, though.

4. Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary

Not technically a movie, but still. (Are documentaries movies? I tend to think of them as separate categories, but I guess they’re both movies. Hm.) I’ve been watching the Try Guys for years, which means I need to convince my sister to give me her Google password so I don’t have to pay for this.

I’m probably not going to stick to this list, and even if I do, I’m either going to also consume things not on it, or just not finish it. But, you’ll have to wait for my March wrap-up to find out.

#tbr #book #books #reading #reader #bookblr #marchtbr #tv shows #movies #review #films #movie #tv show #writerblr #march tbr

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fba-art · 5 years

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Just out of curiosity, why don’t you like young justice??

aight, so i knew i was gonna wait to respond to this ‘til i had some time to explain.

and i want to start out by saying that i don’t think Young Justice, as a property, is a bad show. in fact, i think it’s a show that had GREAT potential. i watched every new episode via livestream every saturday lol. and now, i’ll be honest when i say it’s been some time since i’ve rewatched it, and i’m always open to changing opinions. a few years back, i wanted to give it another, fresher perspective and dove in for a rewatch, but ultimately didn’t finish. i don’t remember my reasoning exactly, but i recall being disappointed.and it’s funny i received this ask this week, b/c my friend and i were planning on giving it another rewatch for shits and giggle after finals ( sober or not is tbd ).

but so, here’s where i stand on the show.

i started watching YJ when it was abt 5 episodes into s1. and i binged those first five and stick to my guns that holy SHIT 1-3 are bomb as FUCK. super strong start! Independence Day will never not get me SO HYPE and remind me why i fell in love with DC’s teenage heroes in the first place. it’s so… youthful. a fun conversation for another time.

and now, when i started watching YJ, it was like four months into my making my TT!Kid Flash rp blog, and two months after i’d gotten into reading comics; when i found out Wally was like a biG DC CHARACTER, NOT JUST AN OLD CARTOON ONE-SHOT, i went EVERYWHERE to get my hands on more about Wally West. ironically, the first purchase i ever made from a comic store was a silver age Teen Titans tale, issue #2 of TTY1, and two issues of the old Young Justice comics ( still some of my favorite comics to this day; more on that later ).TL;DRi saw a commercial for YJ, ft. my fave DC char and my fave comic title and went “HOSHIT”.

as the episodes pushed the show’s plot along, it was fun and explorative of a more intense side to the idea of a group of superteens in the DCU. and again, very TEENAGER-Y, which i say in the BEST of ways, considering that was the target audience as well. but, as part of that audience at the time, one of the things that had started to bother me was the character relationships. yeah, i was loving on most of the main cast at the time, but for the first half of the season, the team’s supposedly-close friendships were pushed to the backburner ( EXCEPT for KF and Rob’s, which was one of the only things that got me through the season ). the first season WAS about straining relationships. the social drama was palpable. you NEED conflict in your plots, and char-v-char is especially fun. but i remember feeling like there was little bonding. they were a group of acquaintances, learning to co-habitate the same space- not to say that they didn’t seem like friends, but there was a lack of balance between “teens being professionals in their field” and “teens being immature teens”. both were squeezed in, but both consistently felt forced.

which brings me to the next point: forcing relationships without developing them!i wasn’t sure why i was supposed to care about Roy, like. At all. the team always bringing up that they trained alongside him, grew with the guy, and then??? nada, except when the plot needed edgy tantrumy angst.then there was spitfire. i ship spitfire now, but the ENTIRETY of s1 i was SO FRUSTRATED, because all those two did was bicker. wally was pretty foul to artemis, who was also just plain mean to wally. and i say this with the two of them as my TOP FAVE CHARS.and don’t get me STARTED on the best char on the entire team, KALDUR’AHM!!!! who was shit on by EVERYONE– fandom and plot, alike. actually, i do recall in my last rewatch starting two tallies of everytime kaldur was DISRESPECTED and TREATED LIKE GARBAGE BY TEEN AND ADULT CHARS, versus everytime he was treated respectfully. this boy was BRUTALIZED through s1.m’gann and conner, too– a cute concept, but borderline cringey, even creepy, at times. i was rooting for supermartian. i was. but it was like the writers didn’t know how to write a slowburn. the idea was honestly better on paper than in execution.

the YJ spinoff comics filled in a lot of these gaps, i’ll admit. it explored the chars, their relationships, and their behavior in ways the show seemingly didn’t have time to do, and i LOVE the spinoff series. but i also firmly believe that you shouldn’t need a second media to fix the first. it’s capitalistic and no fun.

through the duration of the show, there were also issues such as the hiatuses. i don’t recall them coming with much warning at a time, nor sticking to much of a schedule. i don’t actually remember what they were for, either. but, before and after each of (three?? was it three?) hiatuses, the showrunners would introduce a new character during a new arc, give said character some liners or plot fodder, and do away with them for the rest of the season ( i.e Rocket, Zatanna, Garth and Tula, etc. ).

i have some other, nitpickier issues– why was wally That Way, why was clark Like That, how come bruce was the ENABLER the entire time, etc– but many can be argued as whether they affected the show as a whole or not.my actual biggest problem was the direction.the director.Greg Weisman.bc idk what the hell he was doing half the time, and i don’t think he knew, either. the writing wasn’t GREAT, but at least it was consistent. Weisman truly had a marketable property, a fan favorite, and one of CN’s best running shows at the time. but between the hiatuses, the writing’s faults, the insufficient character development, and a HUGE ego thanks to his fanbase, Weisman was unable to uphold the integrity of his show. there was both fan-pandering, AS WELL AS consciously going AGAINST fans’ wishes. there was that whole “Ask Greg”-thing, too, where he would get back to a fan once every blue moon and answer background questions about the show’s universe, which became a scene of hot debate. Greg Weisman became the JK Rowling of DC, and lost a lot of my respect with his lack of damage control, and impulse control.

then, with the very inception of the show– and i don’t actually know if i can blame weisman for this or not, but i wanna know who pitched it, otherwise– the show’s CONCEPT. why was Young Justice made with this particular cast of characters, cherrypicked through DC history, aged down or revamped or just cut-and-pasted where they didn’t fit? why was its concept, “COVERT TEAM OF ADOLESCENTS WITH SUPERPOWERS WORKING TOGETHER WITH LACK OF SUPERVISION”? why was the show called “Young Justice” when what they wanted was the TT v3 comics? WHY DID WE NEED TO TURN SUPERMAN INTO THE UNAVAILABLE-FATHER TROPE????? questions that will forever remain unanswered. that’s a lie, i can answer most of them, myself.but all in all, a show with great potential that failed in execution.

season 2, i actually enjoyed more than season 1– it felt like there was more of a handle on the story and cast, alike. did i approve of season 2 and what went down? debatable. but that’s a very subjective view. objectively, season 2 flowed better than season 1, but still didn’t follow through on subplots, nor resolved relationships or even characterization ( m’gann, girl what the fuck?? ). very little team bonding, save for, once again, two chars out of the whole team. again, another season of SO much potential, but one that fell short.

its pros, however– i really enjoyed the darker themes, getting darker as time went on. there was a lot of tragedy in s2, and different perspectives and walks of life to watch through different lenses. a much more diverse cast, and very different conflicts to tackle. i was impressed. i don’t think all the controversies were resolved, but i also wasn’t quite as upset that they weren’t; open-ended conflict is frustrating, but is a great lead-in to another season.

————which, for better or for worse, we weren’t supposed to have.i personally would’ve rather the show ended there, not quite on a high note ( are u fucking kidding me fjaoisdfjoaifio waLLY, this was during the n52, too ), but with a concrete END. of course there was more to explore, the world they’d built was a big one, but we didn’t need to.

i was literally just yesterday chatting w my sis, bc after school lets out, we wanna watch season 3. i really do. i’m upset that there is one, but i do wanna know what happens to my faves. and, on top of that, i’ve been meaning to do one BIG rewatch, anyways, to get me set up for s3. as a student of film, it’s a huge philosophy of mine to rewatch EVERYTHING and go in with the intent of giving it a fresh start and a clean slate– both medias i love, and medias i hate. it’s important to analyze pop culture critically, and even things that aren’t good can still be enjoyable.

for me, Young Justice wasn’t a phenomenal show to begin with, from its technological side to its creative team to its politics, and i stopped enjoying it pretty early on. but, that isn’t to say it didn’t accomplish GREAT things, and isn’t UN-enjoyable; it has its moments. also i would DIE for most of the cast, i fucking love the characters.

i don’t think anyone is wrong for liking Young Justice. i try to stay in the loop about it, and form new opinions based on whatever information is out there until i can get ahold of the source material. and, i do like aspects of the show. but ultimately, it just isn’t my cup of tea.

#Anonymous #LONG post under read more #rambley. sorry about that it's 1 AM

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kingofthewilderwest · 5 years

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Hello, Haddock! Now that Voltron (sadly) ended, how would you rank the seasons? Also, could you tell how many times you've rewatched them?

Hey there, friend! WAY happy to chat Voltron and all its seasons!

Unlike most fandom culture, I’m not a chronic rewatcher, and the default assumption is that I’ve only seen any show once. It’s rare for me to see shows more than once, honestly, even ones I love. I certainly will be watching VLD more times, but because of my normal watching habits, I’ve seen a large portion of the show only once. I’ve seen S1 probably about 5 times, S2 thrice, S3-4 twice, and S5+ once. I’ve seen “The Last Stand” from S7 twice.

These are rankings based somewhat upon my emotional attachments and not simply objective elements like narrative structure! XD I already know my preferences are going to be different than lots of people in the VLD fandom, haha. These rankings are also based on memory, which is pretty strong admittedly for VLD, but it leaves room to change with a rewatch.

EIGHTH PLACE: VLD Season 8

Let’s be clear: I don’t dislike Season 8 and there’s much I enjoy. Give it up for S8 love!!! Standout episodes to me include “Launch Date,” “The Prisoner’s Dilemma,” and “Day Forty-Seven.” The women going shopping together and Pidge dressing as 1980s Darrell Stoker made my life. Not to mention… it was fun spending time with the MFEs; they didn’t take a disproportionate amount of time, but gave us good moments to make us love them. I’m thankful for the S8 ending giving us both a sense of wrap-up for the plot conflicts, but also looking forward to what our Paladins will do to rejuvenate the galaxy. There’s much I’m thankful for with S8.

That said, S8 isn’t my jam as much as other seasons. I’m not much of a shipper and I wasn’t into the Allurance, nor did I get pulled into the magic-heavy plot conflict with Haggar and her Alteans. And while S7 does give great screen time to Allura, it felt a little less like an ensemble cast and more like a spotlight on her. Enemies’ minds changed too fast for me to feel realistic, and the magic-wonky plot didn’t feel as gripping and intense as S7. It’s the reason I’m placing S8 here: from my own preferences, I attached with other seasons more.

SEVENTH PLACE: VLD Season 5

For whatever reason, S5 didn’t make as much of an impression on me as other seasons. I wasn’t as invested in concepts like “Kral Zera” and “White Lion.” Given as S5 is an odd numbered season in the middle portion of Voltron, it has an innate disadvantage: it’s written in all but name as the first half of a season, which means story arc ending payoffs wouldn’t happen until S6. I also feel like S5 is where plot writing is at one of its most tangled or muddied, given as there’s lots being juggled and introduced conflict-wise and lore-wise and universe-wise and character-wise.

However, S5 - like all seasons - gives us cool stuff. We got Matt (one of my favorite characters) participating in an adventure, lots of Lotor screentime, and a callout to 1980s DOTU that I never thought they’d be able to turn into a good episode (“White Lion”). And!!! We get to meet!!! KROLIA!!!

SIXTH PLACE: VLD Season 3

I have particularly fond attachment to S3. This is the season where I started getting actively involved in Voltron fandom discourse, giving my own take on Project Kuron theories. This is the season that gave us the first glimpse of the Classic Voltron formation - Keith in Black, Lance in Red, Pidge in Green, Allura in Blue, Hunk in Yellow. I felt a thrill go through me as Keith, for the first time, said “Form Voltron!” Also… Lance really stepping up to show his leadership potential??? So good. And this is the season where we meet Lotor, another long-anticipated character… and oh my goodness is his character introduction gold. So there’s lots of stuff I hold strong affinity for in S3.

The reason I have to rank Season 3 back here is because it’s more about the Paladins floundering around than anything else. It’s meant to create a new sense of chaos and instability… their leader Shiro is gone, and now there are new unexpected threats like Lotor to handle. However, at the same time, since half of the season is just the Paladins floundering around not knowing how to work together, it makes me less attached to particular episodes. None of the episodes are favorites or standouts to me on their own. There’s lots of cool moments throughout S3, but I think the only episode I notably emotionally attach to is “The Journey.” But still? Good season!

FIFTH PLACE: VLD Season 1

I can’t believe I have this amazing season all the way back here. I want it to be higher, except that I do have to rank other seasons above this one.

Season 1 is what gets everything started. It sets the stage for what Voltron’s all about, teaching us about lions and robeasts and Zarkon and the Galaxy Garrison and all that good stuff from 1980s nostalgia… all the while creating a new vibe and energy to the franchise. In retrospect, S1 feels much calmer and less high-stakes than the rest of the series (especially post S2). However, it’s a solid season with good episodes that never feel less solid and good. We get great Hunk material with him finding conviction; great Shiro and Pidge moments as they share different worries over the abduction; hilarious Keith and Lance clashes; lots and lots and lots of good things. It’s a very solid season, especially once we launch off Arus.

FOURTH PLACE: VLD Season 6

If you want to know how tight my season rankings are to each other, S6 was almost listed second place.

I attach to specific episodes in particular for S6. I love the visuals in “Razor’s Edge.” I died howling with laughter in “Monsters & Mana.” I fell into so many emotional feels regarding Keith and Shiro in “The Black Paladins.” We get one of the all-time best emotional, action-oriented episodes of VLD… and one of the most amazing, hysterical filler episodes in S6. Despite being seven episodes long, S6 is an incredible ride and adventure start to end. It’s hard to believe so much occurred in that amount of time!

There’s hoards of great stuff in this season. We get the Kuron arc resolved, with lots of emotional content between Keith and Shiro. We get the Lotor arc resolved, learning whether or not he can be trusted, with great Lotor and Allura time. We get Keith returning to the Paladins. We get the introduction of Romelle, which all DOTU lovers have been waiting for forever.

THIRD PLACE: VLD Season 4

I have to put VLD S4 here because of its emotional power. There are damned AMAZING moments this season, alongside some of my favorite episodes and moments of all time. I know I and some of the other fans aren’t huge on “The Voltron Show!” But fuck it, guys, S4 gave us “Reunion” and “A New Defender”!!!

Matt is a delight this season, from his first meeting of Allura, to his tour around the Castle of Lions with Pidge, to his technological connections with his sister and Hunk, to his participation in the Rebels’ fighting forces. We also get some of the funniest moments for me in Voltron, between learning how to milk Kaltenecker and seeing HOW Pidge finally managed to rig up the video game system.

Then there’s the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. “Reunion” is the single most emotional episode in all of Voltron for me. Even though I’d seen screencaps of Matt prior to watching S4, I felt as shocked and heartbroken as Pidge to come to his gravestone. There’s so much POWER to this gravestone scene; it’s one of the moments that resonates with me the most even after I’ve finished the whole show. It might even be my Number One FAVORITE moment in the entire show. It’s not my place to analyze that scene here, but DAMN.

Furthermore, the climax with the battle of Naxzela was INTENSE, with Keith almost sacrificing himself getting me screaming. That was such a great battle and climactic moment in VLD. This was a great culminating moment, in which the series has officially built up from a small team to a universe-wide conflict.

We get standout moments with Keith being badass with the blades, Matt taking initiative, Pidge seeking out her family, Allura helping Voltron flee the gravity field, Kuron becoming increasingly more suspicious. VLD S4 ramps everything up from the emotions to the excitement, resulting in an awesome and intense six episodes.

SECOND PLACE: VLD Season 7

It’s really hard for me to put this as second place instead of first place. I originally had it in first place. I want it to be first place. I LOVE the second half of S7 so much. This is, possibly, my favorite season from an emotional standpoint because wow.

It’s all-around outstanding. S7 showed us how far the Paladins have come as heroes; they operate with great teamwork, skill, and professionalism that is oh-so-cool to see on screen. They’re still the characters we love and cherish, but they’ve grown SO MUCH since their first days on Voltron. This is fully-fledged heroes doing fully-fledged battles and it’s GREAT.

S7 gives us standout moments to so many characters, including Hunk, Shiro, Sam, Colleen, Veronica, and Keith. We even get some good adventure time with Romelle! And as far as character interactions are concerned, we get touching moments between Keith and Lance, Keith and Hunk, and so many other combinations.

The story raises the stakes to higher levels than ever before, with an emotional and exciting conquest of Earth. There’s nothing more horrible and high-stakes to audiences than a homefront war. We feel extreme pain for Hunk with fears for his family, and Shiro for the loss of Adam. We feel the great sense of danger and desperation starting with “The Last Stand.” We feel the drama of a long and extended climax fighting for Earth’s freedom, including moments where the Paladins control the Lions outside their body (so cool), Shiro commands the ATLAS (SO cool), and the ATLAS also transforms into a fighting robot (SO FREAKING COOL!). This has some of the most exciting, badass stuff of Voltron ever. I love it.

Highlight episodes for me are “The Last Stand” (two episodes without the Paladins about Earth fighting for its freedom? this was fucking amazing), “Trial By Fire,” and “Lions’ Pride.” Essentially - all of the second half of the season.

FIRST PLACE: Season 2

Season 2 is probably THE MOST solid season in all of VLD.

Almost every episode is good, memorable, fun, lovable, enjoyable, classic. It highlights the full ensemble cast. It creates an EXTREMELY exciting, exhilarating, fun climax. It is a strong narrative season, cleanly and proudly finishing the first 26 episode long arc for VLD. This season shows VLD at its best. Since it consistently delivers, there’s nowhere else S2 belongs except the top.

We get great Shiro time, what with his arc spent learning to trust Black… leading to him being a badass unlocking the Lion’s wings and taking Zarkon’s bayard. We get great Pidge time, whether it’s her freaking out over video games or drawing deeper into the beauty of the world - technology and biology both. We get great Keith time, with him fighting for answers in the Blade of Marmora and infiltrating Zarkon’s base in an extremely dangerous mission. We get great Hunk time, between unlocking his Lion’s claws and taking initiative in the Weblum adventure. We get great Lance moments, where he shows us he truly can be a sharpshooter for the team. We get great Allura moments, especially in how she fought against Haggar in the finale. This season rocks it for EVERY Paladin.

Not only does every individual Paladin get good spotlighting, but S2 also rocks it with character interactions. How Allura handles Keith being Galra is a memorable moment of character development for both of them. How Hunk and Keith interact in “The Belly of the Weblum” is a delight. How Shiro loses his cool with Slav is hysterical. I can never complain to Lance and Hunk combinations, like in “The Depths.” And of course every episode focused on Keith and Shiro gives us good feels.

Standout episodes for S2 include “The Ark of Taujeer” (THE COLORS), “The Blade of Marmora,” “Blackout,” “Space Mall.” I cannot believe I watched an episode where the character dressed as space pirates and rode on a flying cow to escape a mall cop. That happened. It’s a delight. And S2 kept rocking it with the humor, down to Pidge creating all her Paladin buddies out of space junk and imitating them. But S2 also gives us some of the most memorable moments of VLD storytelling, what with “The Blade of Marmora.” That episode is a staple for many reasons. Not to mention… all of S2 works together cohesively for the long-term arc structure.

And then there’s the climax. So well-done. So exciting. So immersive. So intense. So cool. So badass. Great colors, great flow, great plot, great everything start to end. I was in a THRILL at the end of S2 because this climax was so unbelievably fun. In retrospect it’s got competition with S7, and S7 probably takes the cake now… but fuck it, S2′s end will always be awesome.

Every single season in VLD gives me something to be excited about. There are things to love each step of the journey. I’m thankful for every episode from S1 to S8.

What a ride this journey has been.

#vld spoilers #Voltron spoilers #not really but just in case #vld #Voltron #Voltron: Legendary Defender #Voltron Legendary Defender #long post #analysis #my analysis #non-dragons #ask #ask me #anonymous #awesome anonymous friend

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bugheadfamily · 6 years

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Bughead Family Discord Member Spotlight

This week the spotlight is on Mari ( @writeraquamarinara )! Click the read more link below to get to know our member!

Spotlight by Mila, @jughead-jones | Graphic by Katie, @betty-cooper

Mari | @writeraquamarinara

Name: Mari

Age: 18

Location: Montreal, QC.

Any other languages aside from English people can contact you in?: Italian.

Favourite Riverdale characters and ships?: Betty, Jughead, Pop, Fred, Mary, Kevin, Joaquin, Bughead, Joavin, and Choni.

Favourite moments from S1 & S2?: The scene that got me hooked to the show was when Reggie questioned Jughead about killing Jason, and he replied with a snarky little “It’s called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?” Other favorite moments are pretty much any Bughead scene from S1, but especially their first kiss. I had been shipping them together since the Blue and Gold scene in 1x03, but 1x06 really hit me hard. They’re both two broken kids who find solace in each other. As someone whose mother is all too similar to Alice Cooper, hearing Jughead tell Betty that they aren’t their parents made me so emotional. I rewatched that scene on repeat when the clip came out on Youtube the next day. To this day I can’t listen to Emily Afton’s Lost without crying. I also really love the hug from 1x13 after Betty, Veronica, and Archie go to Southside High for Juggie. S2 favorite moments are also only Bughead scenes, but not all Bughead scenes, if you catch my drift.

What are your hopes for S3?: Are a coherent plotline and consistent characterization too much to ask for? Also maybe have the parents on the show (other than Archie’s) actually respect their children and treat them well, but that’s never going to happen. On a more realistic note, I’m hoping to watch some fun interactions between Josie and Kevin now that they’re going to be step-siblings.

Other fandoms you’re into?: I don’t really have an online presence in other fandoms, but I do love to geek out over Percy Jackson, That 70s Show (specifically JackiexHyde), The Office, Parks and Rec, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and nearly all of the Marvel movies.

What are some of your favourite movies/TV?: As I mentioned: That 70s Show, The Office, Parks and Rec, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Marvel. I’m currently bingeing The Good Place and The Mindy Project. I also went to watch Crazy Rich Asians in theaters and loved it. So basically I’m trash for rom and com. Sue me. (Or don’t. I’m a broke college student who can’t afford that ish.)

Favourite books?: The Book Thief, The Color Purple, Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women, Pride and Prejudice, and, most of all, The Glass Castle.

Favourite bands/musicians?: Nina Simone, Alicia Keys, ABBA, Of Monsters and Men, Christina Perri, and Imagine Dragons.

If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?: I thought a lot about this question. The obvious answer would be “one with magic, or mermaids, or superheroes”. But then I thought that I’d rather live in a world like ours, more realistic, but where women are equal to men, diversity is celebrated, people accept each other for who they are. That’s a very idealistic world, I realize, and (if my preteen love of dystopian novels has taught me anything) one that’s most definitely unattainable, but it’s still nice to think about it. If anyone knows of a fictional world like that, sign me up.

Favourite food?: Gosh, that’s a hard one. Probably my grandma’s lasagna.

Favourite season?: Fall, definitely. It’s my birthday season, and I love the colorful leaves and breezy weather and going apple-picking with my family and friends. Unfortunately, Canada’s fall doesn’t last much more than a day, so I missed out on all that this year.

Favourite plant?: Nelumbo nucifera, aka the Lotus Flower.

Favourite scent?: Aftershave? Weird, I know, but it reminds me of my childhood and my father.

Favourite colour?: Periwinkle.

Favourite animal?: Hummingbird.

Are you a night owl, an early bird, or a vampire?: Night owl, definitely.

Place you want to visit?: The Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan in Iran, and Ryoanji in Japan.

Do you have pets? If you do, tell us a little about them: I don’t have any pets that live with me currently, but I’ve got a pet back home with my parents. She’s a rescued pup from Mississippi, probably some kind of mix between a Pointer and a Labrador Retriever. Her name’s Sassy and she’s super energetic. If you had asked me this question a week ago I would’ve also said I had a cat named Puma but he was twelve and had cancer, so…yeah.

Tell us a little about yourself?: Um, I never really know what to say to that question. Like, what do you really want to know? I’m Mari (the name comes from my AO3/tumblr username, and not my real name). I was born in New Jersey, grew up in New York and Italy, now go to university in Montreal. I’m super passionate about art history, women’s rights, and politics. I hope to be a dermatologist, but honestly, who knows where life will take me. I’m the oldest of four and the first in my family to go through the American school system, so my parents have always referred to me as their “guinea pig”, and that totally hasn’t given me a weird obsession with being the perfect child, perfect student, perfect daughter. For some very obvious reasons, I relate way too much to Betty Cooper.

Fun or weird fact about you?: I fenced competitively for eight years of my life, traveling all around the US and to Europe for training and national competitions, including the Junior Olympics.

Asks for fanfic authors:

How long have you been writing?: I’ve been writing since I was little, but they were always stories with original characters. I didn’t start writing fic until I was sixteen, nearly seventeen, so it’s been a little over a year.

Which is your favourite of the fics you’ve written?: Geez, that’s a tough one. As much as I love my little one shots, I’d have to say Little Talks. It’s largely based on my own high school experience, and therefore my own way of coming to terms with the end of that chapter of my life.

Favourite fic/chapter/plot-point/character you’ve ever written?: Oof. Another tough one. Um, I’d have to say that I really love my characterization of Alice in Blue Sunshine and Golden Rain. She’s a villainess, but hopefully one you love to hate.

Which was the hardest to write, and why?: Again, Blue Sunshine and Golden Rain. I have a bit of a plot twist planned for the story, but I’m really not sure what kind of reception it’s going to get from readers, so I’ve had the chapter half-finished for months. I just need to get the motivation to finish it, and the courage to say “I don’t care if people hate this, or think it’s weird.” I’ll get there eventually.

How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? (examples: Do you draw inspiration from real life? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?) Do you have an process to your writing?: I’ve answered this in a tumblr ask before, but I get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Mainly from real life, because I like to observe and speculate and ask a bunch of “what if”s and go from there. So, like I mentioned, Little Talks is largely based on my life. But there are definitely some plot points in the story that are a result of me going “well, what if I had done this? Or he had done that?” Another example of a real life-inspired fic is my oneshot I <3 You, which was inspired by that instastory (Cole or Lili’s? I can’t remember) of a cake with bright orange frosting that spelled out I <3 You. I also take inspiration from other creative works, such as books or movies. One of my many upcoming fics is based on How To Train Your Dragon, and another is a crackfic based on the Suite Life. Other times, fic ideas come to me out of nowhere. I was in the lab last summer, waiting for my breast cancer tumor slides to go through antigen retrieval, when I came up with the idea for Blue Sunshine and Golden Rain. My brain works in very strange ways.

Idea that you always wanted to write?: I’ve always wanted to write a lot of fics (I have a whole list of them), but they’re in the works so I won’t spoil any more than I already have. The main fic that I don’t even have an idea for but just want to write is a heartbreakingly angsty fic. One that makes me cry while I write it. Here’s hoping it comes to me soon, because I feel like that could be a really interesting experience as a writer.

Favourite character to write?: Alice. Which is strange, because I don’t like her in the show, but there are so many different directions you could take her character that she’s always so interesting to me.

Best comment/review you’ve ever received?: Oh, well, all of them? Is that an answer? Because all comments and reviews make me super happy. But if I had to choose one then I’d say any comment from @earthlaughsinflowers, @mothermaple, @dottie-wan-kenobi, or @notanotherotherone. I kind of cheated by not picking one, exactly, but oh well.

Best and worst parts of being a writer?: The best part of being a writer is putting a story that you put a lot of your soul into and getting support and love for it. Because I only put stories out there that I’m happy to write, happy to read, but to see that they make other people happy, too? That’s an amazing feeling. The worst part is the amount of time it takes to do absolutely anything, especially when you’re not in the right headspace to write. When I’ve had the worst week ever, and I have to physically push myself to spend time that should be spent resting to write because an update needs to come out soon, it goes from being a fun hobby to being a stress-inducing chore.

Do you have any advice to offer?: I haven’t been a fic writer for a long time, so I wouldn’t say that I’m going to offer up the wisest advice, but here’s what I’ve garnered so far: Do what makes you happy. That goes for all of life, not just writing, and is often hard to follow, but here’s how I see it: If you want to write a story because it makes you happy, write it. If you want to quit your WIP to start something else because that makes you happy, do it. If you need to take a break from writing altogether because it’ll make you happier, take it. Write what you want to write, at the pace you want to write it, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

This is the twelfth instalment of Bughead Family’s Member Spotlight series. Each week, a member’s url is selected through a randomizer and they will be featured in a spotlight post. In order to participate, please join the Bughead Discord (more information found here). Thank you.

#bughead #riverdale #bughead fanfiction #member spotlight #bughead family discord

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pervincetosscobble · 7 years

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finished my young justice rewatch here are some Thoughts And Feelings (this is a very long post sorry to mobile users)

let me begin this post by saying bart allen is my one and only true ultimate favorite, and also if you’ve ever wanted to see (um, hear) me cry you can do that now thanks to bart allen

i was surprised by how much some of my opinions/faves changed tbh? i was. god, i was 13 the first time this show aired and 15 when it ended, so it tracks that now, 4-6 years later (???!?!?!?!?) things won’t be the same, but some changes were. significant

i’m adopting conner, for starters

conner loves sociology. pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands, motherfuckers

conner also knows a lot of really weird pieces of trivia

conner was a good student but also didn’t care about school

i remember not being really into conner/m’gann the first time around but i was kind of taken in by them in s1? these two kids trying to find their home in a world that wasn’t made for them.

conner and m’gann had a lot of date nights themed around Get To Know Earth Culture

some of these involved bioship travels and, like, day trips to paris just because they could

some of these were like. improv lessons and pottery classes.

i’m also still not super happy about the hints that they get back together post-s2. like. i hope they become friends again, that’d be good, but i refuse to believe conner would be okay with dating her again after what she did the first time.

point that has only just occurred to me: in the beginning of s1 conner is vastly uncomfortable with telepaths. by the end he’s totally okay with it because of m’gann. and i’d bet money there’s a point somewhere mid-timeskip where, because of her, he was no longer okay with them anymore.

one the note of the timeskip: five years seems RIDICULOUSLY long to me, especially considering that every plot-significant change happened “in the last few months.” like, what was the goal? aging dick up to nightwing? five years is SO MUCH missing lore, so many stories they could’ve fleshed out. make it two years. hell, if two is a squeeze, i could’ve gone for three. but five years?? nah, dude.

the best thing about the timeskip was domestic wally/artemis, which, like, i was totally enamored with them, so much, and their relationship development, and everything about them

i also liked kaldur’s character a lot more this time around, although i’ve got to say i’m not wild about them basically fridging tula?? (i’ll admit to not being super familiar with aquafam lore, so i don’t know how true to the comics that is, but they didn’t have to do it in the show) like, i know that it turns out he didn’t really go mad with manpain grief and turn evil, but i think there’s an equally powerful story in tula being injured and recovering in a world where she thinks kaldur abandoned her, in kaldur having to lie to her face instead of using her memory as justification

in general i think s2 could’ve benefitted from some trimming? i love all the freshmen, i really do, but it wouldn’t have been the worst thing if there were a few less of them.

alternately - and i know, networks and whatever - if s2 had been two seasons, or even had half a dozen more episodes, i think it would’ve benefitted from that, too

gotta say, the light gets old real fast. or at least, like, the whole “everything got super fucked” “no, everything went exactly as we planned it” things. like, you’re telling me the team never once threw them a curveball. never. really

13yo dick’s shenanigans and wordplay were a lot funnier when i was 13

now that i am an adult i feel..... a little more skeevy about canon-era jaime/bart than i did when i was 15 and i actually knew 13-year-olds who were dating 16-year-olds and saw nothing wrong with it? but i maintain that they have a solid friendship and definitely end up dating once they’re in their twenties

zatanna is my hero

this show vastly, vastly underutilized raquel. it’s a damn shame.

you know who else was great? mal. mal definitely saves puppies in his spare time and knows three languages and at least seven forms of martial arts and every teammate’s abilities and fears and favorite colors and everything there is to know about karen

artemis/zatanna is good

you know how jade just showed up and was like “yo roy look at our daughter”?? i like the idea of jade just, like, casually dropping lian’s existence into daily conversation.

“i miss alcohol now that i’m pregnant,” jade says. artemis chokes.

“this mission can’t take too long, i told the babysitter i’d be back by 9,” cheshire says. “the what,” sportsmaster shouts.

i still ADORE the runaway team, including og!roy, and man, i didn’t come out of this rewatch shipping a lot, but i love the idea of the runaway squad being kind of a tangled poly mess. ed is dating roy and asami, tye is dating asami and virgil, asami loves all her boys and understands why roy isn’t interested, etc.

like this fic for the disney film descendants

but also, like, in general, i really fucking love these kids

this show has a lot of really weird dad plots, which is strange for me bc my dad and i used to text after every episode, but also in general it’s interesting seeing the vast range of potential dads. for instance:

clark “i didn’t ask to be a dad” kent, who eventually transitions into an apparently passable dad? it’s not clear

black manta, who is morally a shitheel but also one of the most supportive dads on this show

barry, who definitely wanted to be more of an uncle than a dad

lex, who wanted to buy his genetically-experimented kids’ love

ollie, who really had a hell of a time

and of course dinah, who is the best mom and probably the best parent on the entire damn show

(also bruce, who didn’t do much dadding, but damn if i didn’t tear up at him talking to dick/tim/babs before he left earth)

gar logan is the team’s adoptive little brother. all of them, but especially the original six. and probably also zatanna and rocket.

i’d be able to go into more detail if we had more goddamn information about who joined the team when, which we don’t, because five year timeskip

but anyways since gar and m’gann are pseudo-siblings they’re closest, and then gar also loves conner, because who wouldn’t love their sister’s cool boyfriend?

conner is overwhelmed and kind of pleased by this

after conner and m’gann broke up gar was very worried that his sister’s cool ex-boyfriend wouldn’t want to hang around him anymore

conner did. conner and gar are basically brothers.

gar loves the entire original team, period

also i wanna throw it out there: ik there was a show-specific comic tie-in. i have read none of it. so if i say anything that doesn’t mesh with that it’s because i don’t care a ton about the comics? the show is probably better anyways

god i think that’s just about everything? so to wrap up this extremely long post i’m gonna go out of bulletpoint style here

i’m excited for s3! i really am. i can’t wait to see what they do with it. but also i’ve been convinced since i was 15 that the very last scene, with darksied and apokalips (which i deffo just spelled wrong but anyways), that scene only exists bc the producers were like “fuck it, we’re getting cancelled, might as well go all in” and just threw garbage in to make it seem like there was a conspiracy

like, this is a deep cut here, but there’s an episode of phineas and ferb that ended with a “next time” that was a series of nonsensical dramatic scenes, and then they tried to make an episode out of it and it was basically gibberish, and i’m really concerned that’s what’s going to happen here

but tldr i did enjoy this show a lot, and i’m glad i had the chance to rewatch it, and if anyone has their own thoughts to share y’all are welcome to hit me up!!

#textposting #THIS IS SO LONG I'M SO SORRY #i have a LOT of thoughts and feelings about young justice apparently!!

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kinetic-elaboration · 7 years

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March 24: Thoughts on 4x07 Gimme Shelter

Okay, I finally watched 4x07... It’s hard to gather my thoughts on it, though. I feel like I have a lot and they’re all sort of jumbled up.

In general, I did like it. I thought it was way better than the last two episodes, both of which I kind of hated tbh, especially 4x05. There were some weak points and some things I didn’t quite get or would quibble over but my overall feeling is a positive one. I liked the two main story lines, I thought there were several really good moments, and I was impressed with the episode’s ability to actually have a coherent and clear theme.

The Arkadia/Bellamy Story:

One of my big complaints this season has been that story line after story line after story line lacks tension because the general structure of the episode and the season make the outcome of the alleged conundrum predictable. This time, for once, I actually felt the sort of tension I felt when watching season 2 (well, okay, a slightly weaker version of it)--I actually didn’t know what was going to happen. Maybe that’s weak of me and I should have known that Bellamy wouldn’t be able to save Mark and Peter but I was still hoping for a last minute solution (unlike previous story lines, saving the Coltons wouldn’t have made overall survival any more or less likely, so it wasn’t completely insane to think that Bellamy could have been successful). The last scene before he loses contact with them, stuck in the Rover, was like... honestly a nightmare scenario for me, I mean this literally, I have had nightmares on exactly this theme, searching for some solution to some problem and finding none, so I was definitely emotionally compromised by it.

I was also very pleased that--even though Bellamy’s obsession with the Coltons was obviously from start to finish a surrogate for his worry about Octavia--we finally got to hear someone mention a member of the 100. I really thought I’d have to give up on anyone caring about that particular affiliation ever again. Literally everyone other than the named members of the 100 (by my count...8 people?) has completely disappeared into the ether so I was really beyond excited to hear someone talk about someone else as “one of the 100″ again.

You know how before S3 there was this talk about Bellamy being acknowledged as a hero finally and then instead his character was totally assassinated? LOL I feel like that statement should have been prefaced with “IN SEASON 4″ so at least I could have known how long I’d have to wait for heroic Bellamy to come back from war. I’m not saying this is the first time we’ve seen him since season 2 because it’s obviously not, but still, I loved it, I loved seeing him intense and devoted and trying so very hard.

I also really liked the Bellamy and Kane conversation toward the end, over the Rover radio. This is probably bad of me, but I laughed when Bellamy said “You floated my mom” not because it’s funny but just how sudden it was, like, ‘I hear you trying to be my dad and you’re not my dad!!!’ Also because I like when characters’ pasts are things that like actually still exist since that’s pretty hit and miss with this show. Also because I personally head canon Kane as a prosecutor figure on the Ark and this semi-confirms this view (or we’re just supposed to read the line as being like ‘you, a council member, were generally responsible for my mom’s death’ which is also possible).

I still maintain that Harper has negligible personality but I did like her little mini theme-reinforcing story line here.

Oh also today’s story reinforces what I’ve thought this whole season, which was that Jasper’s little trick about committing suicide by standing out in the “black rain” was not as reprehensible as people think, in fact not reprehensible at all, because if it were black rain he would have felt it right away so like he was obviously not in danger--it’s not his fault that other people are dumb and fell for such fakery lol.

The Island Story Line

This one is more complicated for me. I liked a lot of things about it but I also had some...uncertainties about it and it’s hard to separate the two.

First, the moral issue of the day... Okay, yes, as an initial matter, I still have enough of a soul to be disgusted by the idea of forcibly experimenting on people, like I’m not a completely heartless bitch (even though I think a lot of my episode reactions make me seem that way). But because I have no idea who this Grounder fellow is, and because he really fortuitously just fell into their laps--more on my thoughts on this later--it’s hard for me to feel what I think the full impact of the moral conundrum is. Just as I didn’t really, viscerally, emotionally care about the 4x02 slaves because I didn’t know who they are, I don’t really care about Baylis or whoever he is because he’s pretty much the definition of a rando. I would much, much, much rather a character I didn’t even know existed 24 hours ago die and all my faves live than my faves take the moral high road and give themselves up to death to save some dude I know literally nothing about.

So what I’m trying to say is that I’m stuck between ‘this is really gross’ and ‘this isn’t gross enough.’ The arrival of Baylis is such an obvious narrative out, a having cake and eating it too scenario: you’ll see our heroes doing something bad, but not, like, REALLY bad, don’t worry. But can I really be upset about that? My revulsion is going to limited anyway because disgust at medical experiments is sort of a theme we’ve already traveled on this show so I’ve built up a tolerance and also... if Abby et. al. were really the new Mt. Weather and I felt the same way about them as I felt about,, say Dr. Tsing in S2, I couldn’t still continue to identify with them as the protagonists of the story. So the narrative is necessarily somewhat constrained in that way.

Speaking of Mt. Weather...have the Sky People learned nothing from their own past experiences?? Yes, today’s moral conundrum was about whether to do the experiment to see if bone marrow works as a treatment, but if it DOES, then the next moral conundrum seems incredibly obvious to me and I’m just wondering why no one has brought it up? Like Abby was literally tortured by the last people who thought using others’ bone marrow was a good idea? You’d think she’d remember that. Maybe I’m just missing something, in which case I’m going to feel very dumb, but it’s sort of hard not to associate bone marrow with Mt. Weather in the context of this show. From S2 I learned that one person’s bone marrow can supply something like 8 people with radiation inoculation--if you’re willing to kill the “donor.” So unless Luna’s bone marrow is going to be used in a very different way, for example as like the basis for a synthetic bone marrow style substance, which maybe is where they’re going but it wasn’t very clear to me at least on an initial watch, they can save 8 people if they’re willing to kill her which seems...not great. (Really, thinking about this, their plan HAS to be using something IN her marrow to make a magic solution substance, right? Like there’s no way that’s not the plot.)

That being said at least we’re not going into fucking space I mean WOW THAT WAS SO DUMB I’M STILL NOT OVER HOW DUMB IT WAS. Still a waste of like 2 episodes but I’ll forgive them as long as I never hear “let’s just fly away into space like nbd” ever again.

As I was saying about Baylis. I’m all over the place on my thoughts on this. In general, I do feel like his appearance is super convenient, as I said above, especially since prior to this we’ve literally never heard of anyone else being on the island, of “scavengers,” or of particular Bad People in Emori’s past (besides, you know, her whole family who kicked her out--but that’s fairly obviously not who Baylis allegedly is). We heard some talk about ‘worse things than drones’ on the island but nothing as specific as what we got in this episode. And if random Grounders really are the ‘worse things’ we were forewarned about, by the way, what a disappointment. I was waiting for genetically engineered monsters. Yet again, The 100 meta writers >> The 100′s actual writers. My problem with contrived narratives like this is that they take me out of the story. All I can think is ‘I see you writers, pulling the strings, constructing this narrative.’ That’s a fine thing to think AFTER watching or maybe on a second or third rewatch but a well constructed story shouldn’t feel like a narrative on the first viewing, imo. You should be feeling it too deeply to be analyzing it on the level of construction.

So I thought it was heavy-handed. And I also was sitting there wondering “when is someone FINALLY going to bring up that Baylis would be a great experimental subject???” Because I had come to that conclusion during his fight with Emori--back to the ‘this season is predictable’ theme I guess. I didn’t think the Dramatic Moment of Clarke suggesting experimenting on him was earned because, like, duh, why else was he even written into the show except to be a test subject? However, I will give this point a little bit of slack because of that final scene: finding out that Emori was acting the entire time--that, within the universe of the show, SHE was pulling the strings--made a lot of the earlier obviously-contrived-ness forgivable. Like, okay, it feels fake, but that’s because it IS.

And about Emori... Unpopular opinion time. I liked her, was intrigued by her, when she was introduced in S2. But I found her very lackluster (in terms of writing/conception, not in terms of performance) in S3. I didn’t think the writers really developed her in any way. I realize this could be disputed with textual evidence, for example, how she goes from trusting no one but her brother, to trusting and relying on Murphy, or how she learns to accept her deformity. But I’m talking more, I don’t know, emotionally, I just couldn’t see what difference she made to the story, I just couldn’t connect with her. I feel like she is largely a female Grounder version of Murphy, but less compelling because I know her less and see less of her. Her constant sole motivating factor is her own survival, which makes her very predictable and one-note. Similarly, her relationship with Murphy bores me because we never saw it develop, all of the getting together stuff happened off screen, and then once they were together they basically became like the same character twice over, interacting with itself.

BUT I really did like Emori in this episode. And I finally saw something in her that was compelling to me: how incredibly, incredibly sharp she is. Like that con she played, it wasn’t just on Clarke or on Murphy, it was on ME. I guess in a way I’m saying she earned my respect.

Also Luisa D’Oliviera’s voice is gorgeous, like why have I not noticed that before? When she and Clarke were walking in the woods in particular, ugh, beautiful.

I’m still not really on the Murphy/Emori ship but I will admit they were hella cute in this episode.

I don’t know how Murphy learned how to cook but I like that he does. I also like this “Murphy flirts with everyone” trait they’ve decided to give him these last couple of seasons. I definitely saw him as more ‘awkward boy trying to be cool’ in early Season 1 but I guess all of his experiences have just thrown him into the ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude, which frees him up to flirt with everyone for fun and without worry.

But...what the fuck is a randzi?

One (more?) complaint about this story line though: The impact of the Baylis story was lessened considerably as it was told, imo, in that I could never quite get a purchase on WHAT he had (allegedly) done to Emori--maybe this is just my prurient interest, but I thought they cut a lot of corners in just painting him as a generically abusive bad guy. Sometimes I was tempted to read him as an abusive ex-boyfriend...but he also abused her brother and then there’s that ‘scared little girl’ line. Was he one of the people who cast her out? She talks about that event but also says it happened when she was an infant, so this must be someone she met later...I suppose someone who took advantage of her and her brother’s vulnerability while they were on their own. I eventually settled on a non-literal Bad Uncle type. I’m not saying I need a play-by-play on the abuse, but it just...I was constantly trying to figure out exactly what they were talking about and it started to feel a little contrived (again), how generically he was painted as A Bad Person Just Trust Me He’s Bad. But then that last scene makes me think...was it contrived on purpose? Maybe. Still, Emori’s abuser is, apparently, a real person: Murphy’s line toward the end is “He’s not the guy?” not “The story was fake?” So if the story was real, Emori could have used real details if she’d wanted--the details weren’t hidden from the viewer because she was bullshitting the whole thing but because, I can only assume, the writers were too lazy to write them in, and that, I don’t respect.

Oh, also, that line about saving themselves first and then restoring their humanity, that Kane says, is another one of those faux-deep The 100 lines that I always have to roll my eyes at (like “I bear it so they don’t have to” when Clarke says it, or “No one is innocent” when divorced from its original context, or my personal favorite “You don’t ease pain you overcome it” or whatever that 3x16 nonsense was). Again, did Mt. Weather teach you nothing? Once you’ve done something SO BAD that it erases your humanity itself, it’s gone; you don’t get it back. Maybe if someone actually listened to Dante we wouldn’t still be having these problems lol.

Also also: I’m still on the fence about these Ultra Modern Aesthetics like in Becca’s lab and house, but it was nice seeing Clarke shower, look clean, and rest. And I liked the almost horror-movie scene where she first sees there’s been an intruder in the house. But...was there blood on the pillow of that bed or am I just totally imagining things??

Octavia and Ilian

Two hotties I don’t care about, basically.

I honestly cannot conceive of anything Ilian could do or say that would make me care about him ever so.

I get why Octavia is Annoyingly Dramatic: she’s sixteen. She’s sixteen with an added dose of stunted emotional growth from literally knowing only 2 human beings for most of her life. But that doesn’t make her dead inside emo child bit any less obnoxious to me. (I realize I am a semi-hypocrite about this given some things I DO like and even worse some things I’ve actually written myself but shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

I know everyone saw I/O coming from a million miles away and so did I but that doesn’t make it any less nonsense. That said...I wouldn’t mind seeing Octavia become a sheep herder. I mean I’m so tired of her current state of being that anything would be a nice change of pace but like a real 180 about-face might be kind of refreshing. It might be nonsense...but when was the last time O wasn’t nonsense? Like at least it would be relaxing nonsense.

And on the trailer: Yes Jasper. Yes Miller is finally back from his extended spa vacation or whatever he was doing.

#the 100 #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #john murphy #emori #s4 reactions #the year 2017 #2017: fandom thoughts #2017: the 100 s4 #the 100 spoilers

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