Media Analysis - Tumblr Posts

“it’s a good thing that the minecraft movie isn’t about the intense loneliness of minecraft’s world and finding growth and hope in a post-apocalyptic society because it’s for children” Have You Ever Spoken To A Child

I wanna post a small brain dump, I see alot of people think that the world around them is out to get em because of all this media showcasing assholes but i think people forget that...you are looking at things that showcase people being assholes, I promise most people in the world are chill if you go out to talk to them maybe even dangerously so. I swear I'm so sick of people complaining they only see dark when they have a blanket over them. The same way you looked to find asshole content you can find nice people content

I was rereading some of my posts from 2021 and was reminded of how much meta I used to write so imma share my crazy headcanon/ theory which i thought up as plot for a revolution fic:

RR verse is on the "Olympus will fall" timeline and Zeus' actions are speeding it up.

In the recent decade there has been several great prophecies back to back. And people have remarked how weird it is that there have been so many. What if the reason is because of Zeus?

Remember, in greek mythology there is a major theme of how Your Fate Cannot Be Defied. And Zeus, king of Olympus, has a major Fate: being overthrown. However he managed to "defy" it by eating Metis.

My idea is that he has been forcefully clawing out a future where he is still king of Olympus. By doing this, he is literally changing the flow of fate. And obviously fate wants to correct itself, so the harder he fights it, the more counterforce he triggers. All prophecies meant to lead to his overthrowing are suddenly sped up. Olympus begins to lose power. Zeus is aware of this. He is also aware how people are becoming suspicious. And he needs a scapegoat. And who better than the god of prophecy who is also a threat to the throne?

Apollo mentions that Zeus blamed him for his oracle revealing a prophecy "too early" and therefore causing it to happen early. However, everyone knows it's not possible to actually cause a prophecy to happen early...so why would Zeus even have this weird line of thought? everyone probably dismissed it as Zeus being irrational, but there a juicier theory this ties into:

Apollo being the one to overthrow Zeus.

The idea of "fall of the sun, the final verse". What if this is the final prophecy that is meant to happen before Zeus is overthrown? And what if the fall this speaks of is actually when Apollo fell close to chaos? When he pulled himself together there?

What if he reformed different from his original godly form. He was literally almost gone, his body was disintegrating. Maybe he pulled himself together using the energies of chaos. Apollo himself isn't aware of this, due to a suspicious memory gap between him clawing up from the cliff and him waking up next to Artemis.

And this adds to another headcanon of mine, the fates choose Apollo to be the god of prophecy on purpose. At first glance, this is a horrible match. If they wanted a good servant, why would they choose someone so closely tied to his heart and so likely to fight fate? Someone who dares get them drunk just to extend a human's lifespan? UNLESS... they WANT him to eventually try and defy fate??

Imagine if fate was a compass and Zeus had forcefully wrenched the needle point at a bleak dark future where Olympus falls with him. And this river direction has been set so deeply in stone and run on for so long, it has worn a grove and become the mostly likely future.

you need someone willing to fight, someone to wrench the needle out. SOMEONE FAMILAR WITH FATE AND Prophecy. Someone who has the power to fight it and win. Someone who has the will. Perhaps a baby god who was willing to fight Python, and who would have likely died there. But if he successfully did take on the powers of prophecy, one day that same godling would fight Python again, would absorb the powers of chaos to recreate himself.

Perhaps not today and maybe not even for the next four thousand years

but one day that godling would stare down at that wretched compass hand and decide to yank the flow out of its place. And maybe, that godling means a chance for Olympus to have a different future.

Anyways that's my crazy theory i hope it wasn't too confusing. It also links up with my other story theme idea about fate, hope and apollo blah blah blah, which i rambled about in a different post.

Edit: just remembered my other crazy thought, what if ZEUS PURPOSEFULLY TRIED TO GET RID OF APOLLO NOT ONLY CAUSE HE IS A THREAT TO THE THRONE BUT ALSO BECAUSE AS THE GOD OF PROPHECY HE IS MOST LIKELY TO REALIZE SOMETHING IS WRONG AND THAT ZEUS IS MESSING WITH FATE?!???? Basically pulling a imma say you're the murderer before u realise im the murderer. (i cant remember the actual saying Lmaoo)

What if the BSD Great War...

So while doing some digging around while working on one of my many analysis projects…my brain began to create a weird rabbit hole theory that seems so crazy but it could be like 10% possible. 

As we all know as members of this fandom, there was “The Great War” that occurred 15 years before the start of the running manga. Yet, we are given such little details about such a detrimental event for multiple big-name characters within the series. It makes me question why this might be the case. While I can't pick apart Asagiri to the point where I can figure out his own personal crazy thinking, I can theorize the plausibility that this war was based on a real-life historical event, given the fact that a good 90% of our cast was real people as well, with their BSD relationships reflecting large similarities as the real-life relationships between the authors. 

Now that is said, here is what i came up with…WHAT IF this war we speak off is a odd play off World War II. 

Don’t throw me to the wolves here, I have no clue if anyone else has thought this either… But hear out at least my breakdown: 

Evidence piece number one: Basically as mentioned above, Asagiri uses historical authors and plays the switcheroo game, religiously.

What started as me just trying to figure out what chapter Yosano’s backstory began in, I came across this line in an article breaking down her experience with the war that reminded me that in true international history, WWI was considered The Great War. I stated our Great War is the second one though, but here's why I say it is indeed the second one. We know Asagiri brings in characters that influenced or knew each other in real life, but he does not keep all the facts true with a lot of rearranging of the order of ages and who mentored who, For Example, look at Dazai and Akutagawa; where in the series Aku looks up to Dazai, but in real life it was Aku that inspired Dazai. Yet on the other hand, we also know that if you were to look at the average period most of the authors came from, taking out our lovely Russian friends and a few others, the majority come from the years that are considered pre-WWII to post-WWII. So would it not make sense that he would use people who did experience wartime in real life to have experienced a similar war in this worldly universe as well, which was WWII. This brings us to the next part that looks at the question: so he switched around some things, but why would he need to do that? 

Evidence piece number two: If you look at details from light novels and certain parts of our main story…the alliances between certain countries look oddly familiar. 

I will not lie that I have not read these light novels in a hot minute and I've consumed a lot of other media, so my memories are a bit hazy. But from skimming plot summaries for the books “Stormbringer” and “55 Minutes”(credit to the ppl on this website that give these details) I began to notice something. There are three major groups of authors, once again taking out the Russians, we have the French (who worked in tandem with the English), the Japanese, and the unnamed Germans (besides our man Johann who is mentioned in 55 minutes, I believe). Now pair the countries with how the events played out with the relaying of information about the singularity research, the research that is considered to be one of the major reasons the Great War had even begun, the pairing between countries reflected eerily familiar to the allied and axis powers during the real WWII. The timeline that I have worked it out to be is Germany theorized it first then stolen by France, who succeeded, then stolen again by Germany, and then handed over to Japan, who then also succeeded. 

Evidence number three: Comparing the facts to WWII and the descriptions we receive from the characters in Bungo about the Great War, there are a lot of indirect overlaps.

Since Asagiri made it that out of any event of the series prior to the start of the running manga, he chose the Great War to have the least amount of number facts to its name. Yet, by looking at how the great war within the series is described by the characters who experienced it and then looking at the basic facts about WWII as well, the "events" of Bungo's war are quite familiar. I will say that history was never a class I paid close attention to at any point in my life, but Wikipedia is helping the case here. Whether it is the fact they focus on how it was filled with science and technology advances that led to the deadliest parts of the war. Or the fact that islands played a huge role in many events from the war. There are just enough overlaps for me to consider this as evidence.

And more recently discovered...evidence number four: The book that inspired Asagiri to even create bungo stray dogs was, you can guess, related to WWII.

While I was looking into the career paths that Asagiri had before he became an author, it was mentioned that a book by the late author Shusaku Endo named Ryugaku, which is set post WWII. There are also similarities between the countries used during the great war in Europe and the countries mentioned in this book. This book, combined with Dazai's own novel that also inspired him, gives great sway to the time frame Bungo is actually set in.

Overall all of this could be my delusions doing its delusion things, but I do believe that I can fancy my brain for one minute. Thanks if you decided to read all the way through!

1/2 THE DEVIL INSIDE SERIES | by McJuggerNuggets 4 Seasons in total

Dissociative Identity Disorder Coded

I “remember” (I don’t hold the visual memory of theses) watching S1 right after it came out and going into S2 knowing about the concept because watched some of episode 2 so let me break it down in TDI S1 Jesse Ridgway when he snaps 🫰 his fingers he switches into a different ‘character’, all these characters are from Jesse’s different series that he created and some from childhood. All these characters have different memories but most of them have the same name Jesse, they don’t know what they experienced, their source memory is a source memory. Now Jesse can’t control these characters, when they come out they don’t want to go back (switch out) or they have no idea that the other exist and they came out of their source memory / Inner World in which they call the mirror world or the Hub. Because Jesse can’t control what’s happening and he doesn’t want to be out at all, this one character became like the Host because Jesse was holding a lot of depression and he couldn’t do it anymore so for the next 6 months everyone thought this person is Jesse even though he wasn’t. What’s Ironic is the first season I saw it in like a week I think and being like this is all relatable with every season (these series takes place between 2017-2022). In the end of 2022 that’s when I discovered I might be in a System, when watching Moon Knight being like brooo I can relate. And I stoped watching McJuggerNuggets video around S4 of TDI because I was like no, every time I look like this guy I’m depressed, I’m dysphoric. So I deleted most things, and throw away most of his stuff which I still feel bad about. (He’s okay about it, he said because he also kinda did that when he first split like throw away all my stuff but it’s cool). When watching Moon Knight (someone also holds those memory’s) I forgot about TDI and still figuring things out. Was like of If this is real why is their 2 fictional interject from these 2 sources? Then diving into them they are like 2 sides of the same coin 🪙 to the DID and to the story itself. Gonna post the second video which I’ve rewatched in December of 2023 and being like oh yeah I’ve always related to these series and never knowing why. 

The Devil Inside

There are a lot of reasons I love Whirl. but those lines “I’m not broken and I don’t need fixing”? one of my favorite Whirl moments of all time.

Re reading MTMTE/LL and just noticed this detail with Ratchet and his wish for Whirl…

ID for image 1: in MTMTE #15 Ratchet is facing Overlord and states: “…If anything happens to me, tell First Aid he’s ready, tell Whirl he can have my hands…”

ID for image 2: Then in Lost Light #25 which is a number of years after the events of MTMTE Drift talks to Whirl at Ratchet’s funeral as he gives him what Ratchet wanted him to have: “A present from ratty.” Which are Ratchet’s hands

ID for image 3: Then Whirl states to his prison guard: “do me a favor and give that back to Drift and say thank you. Say it’s a lovely gesture, but I’m not broken and I don’t need fixing.”

Ugh…just how this little detail was mentioned all the way back in MTMTE #15 and gets followed up in the very last issue, implying that Ratchet always remembered Whirl after all those years and wanted to help him in the main way he thought he could posthumously…I just… yea

Totally normal about the robot comic rn :’)

That quote from mockingjay, katniss's thoughts after having a conversation with peeta who had just gotten back from the capitol. When she realizes he's not peeta anymore, at least not the one she knew.

It takes a long time before I get to the bottom of why I‘m so upset. When I do, it‘s almost too mortifying to admit. All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly.

"Finally, he can see me for who I really am." We never really get to see katniss being insecure or doubting herself, she thinks of herself in a certain way, she admits she may be twisted, broken, or even manipulative, selfish. But it's never in a way that she's bashing herself, she acknowledges these traits and actually uses them to fight, to protect the people she loves (which she knows love her back, but right now she's not so sure peeta is on the list). But after she talks to peeta, she starts doubting herself. No matter what happened before, she always knew that peeta would be there for her, that his love for her would be there to comfort her, to make her feel safe. Peeta's love was different than anyone's she knew. Prim loved her as the big sister she looks up to, she's protective of her, she feels responsible for her and she'd do anything to protect her even if it means hiding certain truth from her. Gale's love is strong, violent, he'd always be there to save people, to make the hard decisions nobody wants to, even if it makes him cruel, he'd step up, he's rebellious, he's protective, and... he's so much like katniss when it comes to this. But peeta's love, it's comforting, it's like a ray of sunshine covering her, makes her feel safe, normal, human, it's hopeful, bright, but it's not delusional, it's real and it's raw and beautiful. And of course she feels the need to protect him, but it's like the love he has for her seems effortless, she doesn't have to give anything in return, she can just be who she is and do what she sees right and he'd still welcome her in his arms and stays with her until she falls asleep.

But now, peeta doesn't have the memories of her that made him fall in love with her in the first place, he doesn't remember the little girl who sang in class, he doesn't remember the girl with bread, the girl who was ready to die just so he lives, he only has this picture of a cruel damaged 17 years old girl the capitol imprinted in his mind.

He talks to her, he can't tell the difference between reality and imagination, he doesn't know what's real and what's not. And katniss cannot help him, she has the time to, she's just different now, she's hurt, but she also has a mission on her hands, she cares about peeta, but his expression when he looks at her is unbearable, she won't bother to build new memories for him, because being around him hurts. Even when she had no one, she had peeta. But now he's gone, and she has no idea how she would ever get him back. I just think it very devastating seeing someone who'd love you unconditionally turning into someone who can't even see your face without falling into a rampage and starting to scream. He finally sees her for what she really is. For what she really is. For how everybody else sees her, even worse. She's unlovable, peeta doesn't love her anymore, This line is ruining me.

This all got inspired when I read the lyrics for an SZA song, my mind went to that moment from the hunger games immediately.

no you don't understand all he heard were screams until calypso mentioned polites' phrase and then all he hears is how much longer till your luck runs out and this life is amazing when you greet it with open arms and all he heard were the screams until he thinks of his best friends and now all he can hear are their songs as they tried to guide him away from tragedy in the only ways they knew and it almost hurts worse than the screams because all that blood was on his hands but those two were his friends and they tried and he tried and it wasn't enough because his luck finally ran out-

I am SICK and TIRED of unjustified eurylochus slander. No, he was not the reason Odysseus wasn't able to make it home, his crews growing fear and discontent was. Eurylochus is such an interesting character because he represents the crew as a whole. Not only is his designated instrument the crew itself, but everything he does is for the benefit of the crew. From wanting to raid the lotus eaters island to get as much food as quickly as possible for the crew, opening the wind bag to satiate the crew's curiosity, wanting to protect those who were left and leave Circe's Island, and killing the cattle not just for himself but for everyone else who was starving. Eurylochus was justified in declaring mutiny against Odysseus, because the whole crew agreed. He speaks for them, so nothing Eurylochus did would have gone directly against their wishes. I sincerely believe if Eurylochus hadn't declared mutiny, someone else would have. Odysseus was not a great captain to begin with, and Eurylochus' constant questioning of his decisions proves this. The crew was always discontent with his leadership especially after the cyclops!!!

The new Pristine Cut announcement trailer is so cool... I've watched it at least a dozen times at this point. But there's this one part I can't get out of my head: that final line from the Narrator.

"I—I refuse to let her get the last word in."

Banger voice acting and accompanying music aside, it's also an interesting character beat for the Narrator imo. He's framing the situation like a debate that the Princess is getting the last word in, and not as a situation with a single correct answer (Slay the Princess) the way He usually does.

I think it shows a little more self-awareness from Him than usual: a moment of hesitation and a quiet admission of His lack of control over your opinions and actions. If He really was able to convince you, it wouldn't matter if she got the final words, because you'd choose to slay her regardless.

It's also such an specific thing for him to focus on... He's not just stopping you from freeing her or stopping her from ending the world, He's stopping her from getting the last word in. Because that's usually what happens, right?

The game starts with His narration, His perspective. You need to slay her, or it will be the end of the world. But then you get her perspective, and as the game progresses, inevitably the Narrator falls behind as you and the Princess go through more and more loops that He can't remember and can't meaningfully respond to. You and She build a vastly sprawling dialogue across a network of lives, and meanwhile He's struggling to get his first words in.

And even when you discover your true identity and talk with him openly through the mirror, He inevitably shatters, and moments after that you talk to Shifty, who has much more space to argue her position. The Princess always gets the last word in.

...except for in this trailer. The sentimental moment with the base princess cuts abruptly to the Narrator. Usually when He talks about stopping you in-game, you have the power to resist or outright ignore Him, but here? The video just ends. He gets the last word in.

I just wonder, what does this mean for the Pristine Cut? Will there be a point where the Narrator really does get the last word?

I just had a thought.

What if “Scylla” is from Scylla’s perspective? Think about it. We hear Scylla singing in the beginning, but neither Odysseus nor the rest of the crew reacts. Because she’s watching them, they’re sailing through her lair.

“You know that we are the same.” … “You hide a reason for shame.” She’s observing Odysseus, seeing that he’s the leader, that he knows what’s up, and that he’s willing to make sacrifices.

“Leaving them feeling betrayed, breaking the bonds that you made,” … “There is no price we won’t pay.” She does horrible things to live, snatching men from passing ships and consuming them. “We both know what it takes to survive.” She had to cross lines and learn how to survive, and she recognizes the need for the same in Odysseus.

“We only care for ourselves.” She recognizes that all that matters is their own—for Scylla, that’s herself, and for Odysseus, that’s his family.

Here, the music recedes a bit, and Scylla sings the line differently than the others. She heard Odysseus give the order to light six torches, and what she’s only been assuming thus far is confirmed. “We’re lonely demons from hell.” Until this point, Scylla only sang in one voice, with one head, showing a human-like appearance. But now she sings in several voices with all her heads. She reflects what Odysseus did by giving that order, showing who she is “Deep down”—a monster—and bringing it to the surface.

As indicated by Eurylochus’s line, “Captain. Something approaches,” she starts approaching the ships. Before, no one noticed her; she observed unseen, hence why no one reacted to her singing. She then greets Odysseus almost politely, as one would a peer or an equal. “Hello.”

Odysseus shouts at the crew to “Row for your lives!” Scylla pursues, claiming the sacrifices one by one, as can be heard throughout her verse. She sees that Odysseus is running, failing to completely be the monster that he is. So, while she feasts, she tells him what it means to be a monster, but also gives him advice on how to live as a monster, how to live with himself.

“Drown in your sorrow and fears. Choke on your blood and your tears. Bleed ‘til you’ve run out of years.” Essentially, she’s saying “Go ahead, cry about it.” She says those things rhetorically, presenting them as options neither of them actually have, because “We must do what it takes to survive.” As monsters, they must survive. Giving up is not an option.

“Give up your honor and faith.” She stopped caring about right and wrong. She sees that Odysseus is a soldier with strong moral values, and that he must do the same and abandon those values. “Live out your life as a wraith.” Life is hardly worth living anymore, for her. But she’s come too far to simply let herself die. So she’s become an empty husk of herself, surviving for the sake of it. Odysseus will inevitably need to do the same. “Die in the blood where you bathe.” A reference to her transformation into her current state. The old Scylla died in that moment, leaving only the monster. War is sometimes called a “bloodbath”, and Scylla suggests that Odysseus has already killed so many that his journey could be considered one. He must undergo a similar transformation, letting the old Odysseus die (which he has not completely done yet) and embracing the new monster. She then reinforces the reason for doing these things: “We must do what it takes to survive.”

Finally, she talks to Odysseus directly. “We are the same you and, I.” Odysseus responds, harmonizing at “I”, meaning he can hear her. He can’t bear to admit what he is, since he still hasn’t fully become the monster he declared himself to be, which is why he doesn’t harmonize for the entire line.

I am such a nerd for this musical. Still, I don’t get everything right. Feel free to add anything or correct me in the comments.

"The best thing we can do with power is give it away" - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:

The ongoing "Jason Todd is a cop" debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. [EDIT: I SCREWED UP! This was created in 2019 by the guy who runs the Midnighter-Core page on Facebook, and Joey just reposted it!]

So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:

"A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power. I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large. But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe is fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read. The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact… The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return. Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story. But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive. We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies. But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you). The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take. So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson… The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY." - Joey deVilla, 2021 https://www.joeydevilla.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day-superhero-style/

- Midnighter-Core, 2019

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bU6TrKdX6QgMLnUFk64jResHMVwiSyENASvJk7efasgZ94G4c81XJCVgGcLFPgPsl&id=594855544368212&mibextid=Nif5oz

Roderick Usher is such a good bait and switch of a villain! You spend most of the show watching his ‘downfall’ and corruption, knowing that he’s going to become the monster Dupin knows him as. But you still want to believe he can’t be all that bad, and he somehow knows this and plays right into it until the very end

Roderick is telling his story and peppers it with all these asides and moments that make the audience feel some sympathy for him. That make us believe he either has good intentions beneath everything else, or originally had them and was corrupted by power.

He implies he truly didn’t know Ligodone was addictive: he tells Dupin ‘you belive the chemist when he you tells you the drug they made isn’t addictive, you trust your company not to abuse the use of that drug’. He reminds Dupin (and by extension the audience) that he ‘didn’t make the damn thing, I just sold it’. And then it cuts to show that the drug company was originally acquired by Roderick’s predecessor as CEO, who took his pitch for a pain free world and ran with it. This makes the audience feel some small sympathy for Roderick: not enough to think he’s a victim in anyway but it worms in there and makes him not as monstrous as he was a moment ago. It implies he is not solely to blame.

The audience see’s (we think) Roderick getting corrupted and swayed to the dark side of corporate greed. Brilliantly they show Roderick in present day acting in ways that seem in character for what we have learnt about him, and then flash back to the 70’s to reveal that those lines or attitudes where originally those of the old CEO who Roderick *hated*. It appears as if pure innocent and trusting Roderick who runs straight at injustice has been corrupted by the old CEO, has become the monster or villain that he once hated. It’s a small tragedy mixed in with a busy narrative but it impacts the audiences view of who Roderick once was. We interpret this as an originally good if naive man corrupted by power and wealth. Coupled with all those scenes in the 70’s of Madeline being more emotionless and pragmatic, pushing Roderick to be more manipulative and strategic, it appears as if he has been ‘forced’ or ‘groomed’ into his role against his original intentions. Part of the scenes we then spent in the 70’s is spent quietly mourning this version of Roderick, as we know it doesn’t survive his ascension.

But there are enough moments to imply that Roderick is still being an unreliable narrator. When Dupin first apologised for faking an informant, saying he feels that his lie had some role in the death of his children, Roderick’s first response is to run with that false impression. The way he responds to Dupin’s apology sounds like he’s gearing up to lay into him about his role in Roderick a children’s death, to double down and agree that Dupin does bear some blame for how they died.

And then one of his dead children appear to him. They make him pause, collect himself, and acknowledge what Roderik knows to be true: Dupin’s lie had no bearing on their death (his deal with Verna is the reason they’re dead) and any impact of that lie on their final fate is solely due to Roderick believing it and then placing a bounty on the supposed informants head. He turned his kids against one another, Dupin’s lie was just the vehicle. Roderik only voices this when he is forced to by his literal ghosts.

There are several moments when it appears his dead children are ‘keeping him honest’. When he’s getting off topic Perry or Leo appear to shock him and remind him to keep telling their stories. When he tries to downplay his part in the creation of Ligodone and argue that the horrors of its addiction are actually due to a street derivative which ‘hasn’t been FDA approved’ Camille’s appears behind him to force him to reconsider and eventually interrupts him so abruptly he trows a glass at her. When he’s lamenting Frederiks death and remembering him as a child not an adult (the last time Roderick was any kind of father to him) Fredrick takes over child/Frederick’s body to remind him of how he died and to get back to the story. It’s almost like he’s saying ‘you don’t get to remember me like this, you don’t get to miss remember and pick and chose: this is how I died and it’s because of you so keep going’. It’s only in hindsight so we realise this was Roderick trying to subconsciously control the narrative and change this confession, to reframe his actions and those deaths. And the kids didn’t let him get away with it.

Even Juno as a narrative device helps to hide Roderik’s rotten centre: she is such a bluntly honest and sincere person, she lends a little credence of honesty to Roderick. We think he must have some small good in him (albeit wrapped up in all the ‘old enough to be Juno’s father, makes the opioid she’s addicted to, doesn’t defend her from family cruelty’ BS of his ‘love’) as she is devoted to and loves him. Plus when we first meet her he states he loves her, he is always shown to be gently affectionate towards her, and even claims she is one of his ‘two favourite ladies’ along with his granddaughter who we know he dotes upon. But then at the very end his twisted horror show of devotion is revealed: anything close to love he holds for Juno is warped by her being a living totem of his product, something he can point to and use to further his cause. Juno is an object to him, one he enjoys complete control over. He has never seen her as a person in her own right, just a doll/puppet to prop up his drug empire, and he can’t separate her or his feelings for her from the drug she is dependant upon.

Added to this, towards the end of the show we discover that this ‘unburdening’ of Roderiks sins, this confession to a litany of crimes, which will give Dupin closure for both his life’s work and answers to Roderick’s betrayal of him in the 70’s… that isn’t even Roderick’s idea! Verna told him to confess. Even at the end Roderick isn’t mending bridges of his own volition.

And then his final revelation: he’s been lying the whole time, maybe his whole life, to everyone. He had always know people would die to ensure his success, that he would have to climb over ‘a mountain of bodies’ to get to the top and it never once made him pause. He wasn’t corrupted, he didn’t get poisoned by the old CEO and his views, he didn’t change to take on more of Madeleine’s views. He just noticed the best way to get work done and adapted.

Dupin had it right from the start: the only good that he ever saw in Roderik was a reflection of Annabelle lee’s. Like the moon has no inherent light of its own, Roderik hid his darkness behind the strength of Annabelle’s goodness until the time came when she couldn’t shine on him anymore. And he was revealed for the empty dead husk he had always been.

And Annabelle even said it herself, when then kids chose Roderick over her. They were starving and he told them to gorge themselves but he could never actually feed them, because he had nothing real to offer. Empty through and through, and just. So. Small.

Dexter is a cautionary tale of the need to accept discomfort as a part of life, with Emma as his contrast and aspirational example.

Throughout the show Emma embodies determination and self assurance. The only reason she thinks she can change the world is.. because why couldn’t she? In contrast Dexter has no idea what he wants and kind of resents having to even think about it, hence his jumping between careers and looking for purpose for the whole show.

While Em knows what she wants emotionally (the satisfaction or having made a difference, the achievement of doing what she always wanted) but isn’t sure on the specifics of what that will look like (I’ll write plays, no write poetry, no I’ll teach, okay no I’ll write a book), Dexter knows the specifics (I’ll be rich and famous) but doesn’t know what he wants emotionally (‘what will that look like?’ ‘I don’t know’).

While Dex is always running from uncomfortable feelings Em faces then head on and comes out the other side, able to learn from them.

As Dex is travelling to put off making long term decisions, Em has taken the first opportunity to do what she wants: writing, be it books, poems or in this instance plays.

On holiday Dex can’t allow himself to admit that he fancy’s Em and to leave it at that, he has to run from the honesty and vulnerability of that moment by adding on ‘but I pretty much fancy everyone’. In doing this you could argue that he looses his chance with her for several years, where as Emma’s confidence could have resulted in them getting together much sooner.

Dex misses his mothers last birthday because he doesn’t want to face reality. Instead of reacting to the fear and anger and pain of her diagnosis by spending every moment he can with her, or sitting down to have heart to heart talks with her, or helping her out in any meaningful way Dex runs away and numbs himself with substances, and is passed out for the little time he is in her presence.

When he’s nervous people won’t (or already don’t) like him on TV he again turns to substances to numb his feelings, and (instead of taking Em’s advice to ignore them) looks for reassurance from hangers on who don’t actually know him that well. He can’t sit in that worry/fear/discomfort so he finds a way to stop feeling.

When Dex’s marriage falls apart we see him running away to Paris to visit Em. And sure there are ulterior motives here (his hope and assuming that this could be the start of their romantic relationship) but the writer shows him literally traveling away from the country where his failed marriage, child and previous life were as he is show to be angrily talking about his divorce. As an image it appears like he’s running away from the reality of the divorce or running to Em for a distraction. It definitely supports Ems assumptions that he’s not serious about a relationship with her; she’s seen this behaviour in Dex before.

It’s even funny how in small ways we don’t see him handle upsetting things until the very end. Talking about his first marriage and the production the day became? Dex admits he didn’t want to rock the boat so he didn’t fight anything/reject anything/ have much say at all in his wedding. Sylvie drops off Jasmine? Dex is still at the cafe so Em is the one managing slightly awkward small talk. Jasmine practising her violin? We get a brief moment with Dex too but mainly it’s Em sitting through the recitals. In that last episode when they’re struggling with fertility, Em is the one who sits down and talks out her anger and fear and worry, where as Dex (who probably knew what the root of it all was) was happy to leave her to process it how she need to and support her while she did. If she hadn’t brought it up he wouldn’t have said anything.

That’s not becisarily a bad thing (Dex could have known that Em needed to process it herself before talking to him) but it is interesting that the writers engineer Dex to avoid all these moments of emotional discomfort. It reinforces his characterisation of being avoidant when confronted with conflict.

In contrast we kind of constantly see Em having to face hard moments and working through them.

Don’t know what to do with your life? Move to London to try and aim to work in your dream field. London life and restaurant job not going the way you planned? Commit to Dex’s suggestion of teacher training. Time to confess a secret? Here’s a hugely personal one about my past feelings for you. Past crush admits he kind-if fancy’s you? Stick to being honest about your past feelings and don’t take the opening to downplay them. You feel shit about your life and your secret affair? Well let’s turn that into motivation to finally write that book.

Not happy with your long term partner? End the relationship.

Emma’s whole confrontation with Ian is a masterclass in facing difficult conversations and emotions, being vulnerable and open and honest about your feelings, and finding empathy for another outside your point of view. And look what she gains from facing that hard in comfortable conversation? Closure, and a kind of friendship, one that lasts even after she dies.

When Dex confessed that he hoped they would start a romantic relationship in Paris, Em sits him down and starts that hard conversation about how she doesn’t think that is 1) what he even wants and 2) would work between them. She doesn’t brush off of hide from the conversation. And then when she has more information and time to think she commits to Dex.

Even after they sleep together there’s a scene of Em laying the ground rules, making it clear to Dex what she will and won’t stand in this relationship. That’s an awkward conversation to have but Em doesn’t hesitate and makes sure he knows from the get go what she expects and deserves. The writers are constantly showing us ‘Em doesn’t run from uncomfortable feelings’.

And then the tragic twist of fate: Emma is gone and Dexter finally has to learn to live with emotional discomfort. He can’t keep running because there is no escaping this, not like he did with his mum. Like he says to Imaginary-Emma ‘why would time change anything’. He is going to feel like this forever, there is no escaping it. Finally he is learning to face it, manage it, and work through it.

Of course Emma is far more than a literally device and is her own layered and well established character. But in this regard for Dex it’s almost as if she’s the final lesson for him to work through to grow up enough so he can eventually choose to return to the place they met.

And it could even come across as a reward for him; in learning to live with those difficult emotions, his reward is being able to remember Emma fondly, and to return to the place they met to seek out those memories. The memories are bittersweet, but now he remembers Emma as she was and not how she never got to be.

Like his dad said, he is eventually able to ‘live [his] life as if she were still here’ but in order to do that he first had to accept that she was gone.

There are so many missed opportunities in Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3 its frustrating to behold.

As one half of the season is out it’s possible that some of these will be fixed in the second half however having to wait until then (not just in terms of release date but also narratively) is not good planning. Having to wait for Part 2 to have most of the interesting things happen with our supposed 'main characters' makes the structure of the season feel unbalanced, and annoys the audience trying to root for the main couple. And a lack of attention to our romantic leads leaves the audience feeling uninvested and unconvinced in their love.

Spoilers below.

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1. No flashbacks: by the end of Episode 4 in S1 we knew all of Simons backstory, why he didn’t want children or marriage, and his key character motivations. This helped us understand why Antony was so against the match (he knew of Simon’s vow), why Simon duelling him instead of agreeing to marry Daphne was actually a sign of love, and helped the audience understand his struggle to accept love. Similarly by Ep 4 of S2 we have had Anthony’s tragic past with his father revealed, explaining his fear of love impacting on those around him and explaining why he is fighting the clear feelings he has for Kate. For both of these romantic leads we (the audience) now know why they are refusing their clear and obvious feelings for the heroine, what internal struggles they are going to need to overcome this season, and by proxy have been reassured that they must truly love the heroine otherwise they wouldn’t be tormented.

This explanation and fleshing out of key character-beats reveals the internal motivations which are governing these characters; this knowledge is essential for future scenes where their actions will appear dismissive or unloving and the audience needs to know that they are operating under their own internal world view in which those actions make perfect sense.

Simon rejecting Daphne's hand? He’s not being cruel, he doesn’t want to deprive her of children as he has foresworn having them. Anthony rejecting his feelings for Kate and continuing to pursue her sister? He’s not unfeeling, he’s actually feeling too much and trying to run from it. This knowledge helps us forgive actions that could make us doubt their ‘true feelings’ and is essential to the audience rooting for the couple. When the romantic lead is being an ass it helps for us to know what may be making them act that way.

No Colin flashbacks means we have no idea what motivates him, what his internal journey for this season is, or any reassurance that his love to Penelope is true. What might have been motivating Colin to act like an ass, not just to Penelope but to other people, and what m ight be be grappling with now which is impacting him either realizing his feelings or coming to terms with them? We have no idea, so his journey to love is a little less compelling.

2. Colin didn’t get humbled: through season 1 + 2 we’ve seen Penelope pine after Colin while he bumbles happily along seeing her as a cherished friend but ignoring her for other romantic options. We finished season 2 with a Colin deeply hurting Penelope and implying to the audience that he actually doesn’t respect her even as a friend - what friend would imply their fiend is unattractive or unmarriable to others, especially in that time and society?

As the audience has been following this one sided romance from Penelope’s perspective we’re predisposed to be on ‘her side’, hence wanting Colon to be humbled and have to properly apologise. We want to see Colin chasing Penelope (in a role reversal from the previous two seasons) and be made to eat his own worlds.

Instead we get one scene of Penelope revealing her hurt over Colin’s actions, and then their next scene together Colin is all but forgiven. He apologises but immediately move the conversation on, asking to atone for his actions by offering help and then bam! For all intents and purposes it’s business as usual between the two again. Penelope is happy to chat and banter with him, smile at him lovingly, and agree to a secret (and scandalous) partnership.

Whats even more concerning is that they’ve set up Colin to property hate Lady Whistledown so when Penelope reveals herself she may even have to humble herself before Colin for his forgiveness. Having started the season (with two years to dwell on Colin’s actions) wanting Colin to have to beg Penelope for forgiveness, it feels disappointing that not only do we not get that but we may get significantly more scenes of her begging for his.

3. Penelope and Colin together: this may be more personal preference but I’m not feeling the same for this couple as I did for Daphne+Simon or Kate+Anthony, or even Charlotte+George. Some of it is line delivery (Anthony felt like Brooding Fuckboy, or Fuckboy who’s fighting their inner demons, whereas Colin just feels sleezy), some of it is script (Colin hasn’t been given nearly as much dialogue and little of it is noteworthy), and some is just preference in that this lead doesn’t feel mysterious or challenging or interesting. He’s really just there.

Simon and Daphne, Kate and Anthony, Charlotte and George they all had this tension when they were on screen together that you could feel through the screen. Maybe it’s the lack of anger or hatred or antagonism between the two of them and due to them being a friends to lovers storyline but the tension just doesn’t feel like it’s there.

4. Time with the main couple: It doesn't feel like the 'main couple' this season has had as much time or scenes to help us understand why they are meant to be together.

This is an ensemble show and as season continue and characters develop or are added this will become a bigger issue; there are more named characters and players than S1 to juggle, plus some characters need time this season to set themselves up for future plot lines.

But Season 1 felt like Daphne and Simons season. Season two felt like Kate and Anthony's season. This doesn't feel like Colin and Penelope's season. Its more like this is a drama-filled season, and one aspect of it is Colin and Penelope.

5. Colin's Character: This is actually a much bigger problem so lets break it down further

5.1 Why Colin? In a friends to lovers plot (a childhood friends to lovers plot too) we really need to see why our heroine is fixated on this man; why is he better than all her other options, why did she originally fall and then remain in love with them for all these years, and why should we want him to realise his own feelings? Crucially what is so special about him?

As Colin hasn't yet been fleshed out, really at all, we don't know why he is this great love for Penelope and why we should root for him to fall in love with her in turn. So Penelope's pining for him comes across as less understandable and more 'I don't get what you see in him but okay'. And that's bad, especially for a show which wants you to go feral over their central couple; fewer members of the audience falling in love with the lead means fewer people understanding Penelope maintaining this crush (especially when its detrimental to her future) which means fewer people rooting for the main couple.

5.2 Colin’s character dissonance: this is kind of a show don’t tell issue but we keep being told all these things about Colin’s character, instead of seeing examples of this behavior ourselves, and on top of that what we are told doesn’t match with what we are shown.

Violet tells Colin he’s ’always putting others first’ but we have never seen this in 2 1/2 seasons of this show. Colin has left to travel in every off season, a very self centred action focused solely on what he wants to do and not what others may want. We’ve seen Benedict put people first more than Colin (being the shoulder for Eloise, helping her out in ballrooms, being Anthony’s second for his duel and his sounding board with Sharma issues) so that character assessment feels untrue.

Violet also calls Colin her ‘most sensitive child’ but we have not one scene of Colin showing this sensitive side. There’s no scene of him comforting Daphne about her failed season or Anthony about his problem with the Sharmas; no moment showing him helping out anyone outlet out of the kindness of his heart, or reacting to another’s pain or worry or problems so again this feels like Violet is describing a totally different character.

Penelope says Colin’s eyes are more beautiful ‘when you’re being kind’ but we haven’t seen Colin be overly kind to anyone. He told Marina in S1 he would have still married her if she had told him of her pregnancy, but this is stated when he’s angry so he’s probably not feeling or looking very kind right then, and it isn’t him actually doing this action, it’s just him claiming what he would have done. When he’s goes to visit Marina in S2 his actions come off more desperate and clingy than anything close to kind. If you argue that his tutoring if Penelope is kind, it’s actually self serving as he offered to do this to atone for him being decidedly not kind at the end of last season. He’s helping her out but he offered this to make up for hurting her before so I don’t think you can view this as a selfless act.

When he reveals Jacks scheme in S2 and demands he pay back money while preserving the Featherington Ladies good name he is undoubtably doing a good act but ‘kind’ isn’t the way he’s portrayed: he’s shown as decisive, protective, angry, courageous, bold, etc.. all very good things but still not that ‘kind’ Penelope talks about.

The last time Colin did something entirely kind may have been Season 1 asking Penelope to dance after Cressida ruined her dress. If that's it, that's very little to go on and a very long time ago.

It feels like people are trying to tell us that Colin is a good guy, without showing us moments where he actually is good. It comes off as clunky and doesn’t match the character we have seen, so these claims have little impact on our assessment of him as a person and as a lead.

5.3 Colins Writing; Stop trying to make Colin's Great Writing happen. Its not going to happen.

At least not when the only snippet you give us is basically porn.

I haven't read the books but I've heard that Colins writing snippet that Penelope finds, while starting as porn, eventually turns into a rumination on how unfulfilled and alone these actions make Colin feel and how he feels lost. That would have been an amazing moment to have in the show, giving us honesty and a secret from the romantic lead and adding depth to Colins actions (which are a little jarring to watch while we actively want him to be falling for Penelope).

If Colin is this great writer then have him writing more. In the back of conversations at breakfast, have him reading his travel journals or scribbling in a notebook. In the hot air balloon scene have Colin seek out an adventure novelist to talk about his experiences. Maybe he gets a letter from Sir Phillip asking about his travels since they enjoyed speaking so much last season, and Colin sends long and detailed responses people joke are like novels (also great for future seasons).

Right now it feels like window dressing and a throw away comment that he's 'an incredibly talented writer' and doesn't match what we've seen of him.

(Side note: it is objectively hilarious that Penelope reads one page of smut about a naked woman the author is sleeping with, then later describes this page of writing as 'incredible' while claiming she 'would love to read more'. You sure you're 100% interested in Colin there Penelope...?)

5.4 How is Colin a Tragic Hero?: This figure always works best for romatic stories and all other Bridgerton Seasons have followed the formula. Simon had a negligent and abusive father and no good examples of marriage or family, Anthony had traumatically had his beloved father die in front of him and been parentified at a young age, and George had the weight of the crown destroying his mental health. All of these leads had a demon they were wrestling with and it gave them intrigue and interest.

Colin has no demons; at least none we've been made aware of.

There's a vague allusion (from Eloise, Lady Whistedown and Violet) that Colin is in some way 'putting on a front' this season. What would have been amazing for the audience would have been a scene or two showing Colin struggling to fit in (in his family, in the Ton, etc) and him feeling alone or isolated because of it. Maybe traveling was his attempt to have interesting stories to tell, or something to distinguish himself with but upon his return (Season 2) no one had an interest in listening and groaned when he tried to share his stories, and so he turned to writing them down instead and decided to shut himself off from trying to relate to everyone as 'himself' and instead to become 'The Traveler' character and pretend so he can fit in.

This would not only give Colin a Secret or a Demon that he needed to work through, but offer us (the audience) a way in which he would be able to understand and support Penelope; another person feeling isolated and unheard who turned to writing to express themself.

While there are the bones of a great love story here the little work put in to flesh out Colin as an individual, giving us no idea of what experiences made him and what he is currently grappling with, means the audience doesn't have much to go on when Penelope professes to love him. Who is this man, as descriptions of him don't match his actions and those actions he does have are both seemingly self serving (travel) and not fully fleshed out (writing); and both annoyingly happen largely off screen. And as the current structure pits Penelope as likely the one needing to beg forgiveness by the end of the season, while we entered it expecting Colin to begging for her forgiveness, their current relationship doesn't feel as salifying or as earned as we could have hoped.

Here's to Part 2 doing some very heavy lifting.

Daemon Targaryen's Potential (1/2)

I think I can see what they're trying to do with Daemons character of HOTD but there are such better vessels for self exploration and character development that have been squandered.

Season 1 Daemon is (in hindsight) trying to find himself; he's lashing out and fighting wars, he's trying to force Viserys and the world to give him what he wants, he's trying on being a husband and father while being half a world from the rest of his family, and he's finally basking in marrying the woman he loves and creating a family with her. He's a bit all over the place but we can trace the character growth through his actions and decisions.

But in the Season Finale we finally see the cracks in Daemon as a person, and in his relationship with Rhaenyra. These are areas where no pressure has been placed yet and so they didn't realize that when they were tested they would buckle slightly. Its great and engaging TV, and understandable with Daemon's character progression that these areas had not been explored or challenged until that time. And it adds further worries to Rhaenyra's faction as a ruler and a wife that one of her supposed strongest supporters and source of strength isn't actually as secure as previously thought.

Firstly, Daemons sense of self is challenged when he realizes his brother never viewed him as his heir or a legitimate successor to the Iron Throne. Daemon has stated time and again he doesn't want the throne and the narrative supports that, but its likely a small part of him cherished that for a time he was the heir and his brothers successor. To learn that Viserys never thought of him in that way was devastating, and we know this Daemons physically chokes his wife as he learns it. This is the first distance of violence we have seen towards Rhaenyra personally and towards a wife he cares about (he did kill his first wife Rhea but he made it clear he didn't respect or care for her at all, so in Daemons mind this wouldn't have been a shocking action). This reaction, of violence towards someone he has shown in word and deed that he values and loves, is actually quite out of character and emphasizes how shocked and distraught he is at learning of his brothers 'betrayal' of him.

Secondly his sense of self as a husband is challenged when Rhaenyra is laboring to deliver their daughter Visenya. The narrative implies that this is an unexpected and early birth, so no one is expecting it to end well even putting aside the baby's deformities, but Daemon chooses to prioritize the political and logistical aspects of his role as King-Consort and not the personal one. Even when his wife is crying out for him, when his step-son pleads with him to go to her, he still prioritizes the 'duty' of being a leader and husband of the Queen over that of a husband to a wife. We are shown Daemon as a devoted father to Baela and Rhaena, and as a husband to Leana he prioritized her choice and care over that of medical professionals. This change in behavior when a position of leadership or power was included in the mix is an intriguing development in Daemon's attitude as a father and husband.

And finally his self of self as a leader or ruler of men is challenged when it is made clear that while he is valued for his ideas and input, the final decision will rest with his wife as she is Queen. This is both a change of Daemon personally, as at least since their marriage he and Rhaenyra are shown to either be in agreement on all fronts or to make decisions jointly, and also the same situation he was in when Viserys was king; every decision had to be run through his brother. This is a stark wake up call for Daemon that he will not be able to make decisions independently and unilaterally on his own, and his power once again comes as an extension of someone else. Its likely that even if he knew this academically, it is another thing to be living it and especially at a time of crisis.

Daemon then encounters a crisis of faith in Season 2 Ep 1 in that his view of Rhaenyra is fundamentally challenged, both as a ruler and as a person. Rhaenyra's reaction to her sons death is fundamentally different to how Daemon would react if he were in her position, or so he believes, and he thinks less of her as a result of this. Daemon, as a father, would react more violently to his son being killed and when Rhaenyra doesn't he thinks less of her as a parent; in his view this is the wrong way to grieve the loss of a child. Daemon, as a ruler, would react more vindictively and in a retaliatory fashion against those who had taken his child from him and Rhaenyra isn't doing so; in his view this makes her look weak as a ruler, and undermines her ability to rule and so is again the wrong way to be acting. His faith in her as a Queen is crumbling every time she doesn't do as he would if he were in the chair, especially as he views them as so alike and as 'twin flames'; his frustration grows as he is not allowed to act and the one who is allowed isn't doing what he thinks they should.

This isn't to say that Daemon is right or that Rhaenyra is wrong in this; Daemon thinks the way he would react is just 'the right way' to do so and Rhaeny's is the one who councils him that not only is Rhaenyra's reaction to everything both understandable and acceptable (and that she grieved in the same way herself) but that at the end of the day it doesn't matter if Daemon feels he would act differently; he is not the King and never will be so it is pointless to speculate. Rhaenyra is the Queen and so their role is not to try and make her grieve or act differently but to support her actions in that grief.

Daemons actions with Blood and Cheese are a reaction to all of these criseis, of self and of faith, and is Daemon once again acting selfishly and lashing out; only this time the consequences of his actions will be direct and damaging. In reaction to not being able to act without his wife's oversight, in reaction to him feeling Rhaenyra is not acting violently and decisively enough as a ruler and as a mother, Daemon acts both independently and violently, and it immediately backfires. The Greens fumble the bag a bit with the PR opportunity he gives them but his actions could have cost Rhaenyra allies, support, and even eventually the war itself. His selfish actions hurt and undermine Rhaenyra as a ruler, and their relationships is shown to be weaker and more flawed than either of them had thought it to be.

And in that final scene of confrontation it shows that Daemons own actions have always been his downfall, and that again none of his struggles are new information; Rhaenyra was always going to be Queen, Daemon was always going to act as the support to her rule, and yet everything he is doing is eroding her trust and reliance upon him. Time away for him to realize his flaws and re-commit to the life and position that he knowingly chose will make their partnership strong enough to survive the imminent tragedies looming on the (metaphorical) horizon, and make their love feel doomed enough when The Dance reaches it conclusion. That final arc will not hit hard enough if half of the people watching don't truly believe Daemon supports his wife 100% so now is the time to put in the character work and exorcise those doubts.

Daemon's Wrong Wraith-visions (2/2)

Harrenhal and the visions or illusions therein should be a great narrative device to explore the newly discovered shortcomings of Daemon as a husband and leader, and it would make sense to address them now; after taking Harrenhal Daemon isn't said to have done much for a while in Fire and Blood so it makes sense to fill out the plot. There are also some hugely tough and tragic events on the horizon, and having Daemon recommitted to Rhaenyra is essential for the Black Faction to remain as a challenger for the throne. Additionally in the final arc of the Dance, Daemon being firmly and assuredly devoted to Rhaenyra will add tragedy to both his and her actions. To have the impact of those events and actions truly land, the audience's faith in Daemon as a husband to Rhaenyra and as a King-Consort to his Queen need to be unshakable. So it makes sense to devote time now to addressing any cracks in him.

But they picked the wrong wraiths to do it.

The first vision should have been of Viserys, allowing Daemon the chance to lash out at him properly; for never treating him as the true heir, and for not realizing Daemons devotion to him as a brother and a ruler. A lot of this was Ottos HighTower's poisoning of Viserys against him, but Dream-Viserys should also bring up all the instances in which Daemons selfish and short sighted actions not only undermined his own cause but harmed those he proclaimed to love.

Case in point; Rhaenyra and the brothel. Riding high on the step stones victory Daemon could have used that leverage and well thought out arguments and petitioned for her hand; It would quieten those people who didn't like a woman as the next ruler, as they may feel he would rule through her, which was incorrect but it would mean they didn't act against her rule; it would have stopped those who were whispering that Aegon should be the heir as he was a son, as now the kings brother would be the next King(in a way); it wouldn't have been out of character for the family, and Daemon had always treated her well (even if Viserys didn't believe he truly loved her); Rhaenyra hadn't found any men on her tour she liked but after such a procession she needed to announce a betrothal. And Viserys could annul the marriage to Rhea and allow her to marry again - another female 'ruler' of her house, which would lend support to Rhaenyra's claim to rule as a woman and a daughter of the former Lord.

But instead Daemon tries to 'force' Viserys to give him what he wants, and looses out on all of it. Not only that, Rhaenyra's reaction to his abandonment is sleeping with Sir Criston and then rejecting him which creates an enemy for life, one who is now in command of her bothers Kingsguard and Army; An enemy she would not have if not for that night. Additionally a key part of Daemon trying to force the marriage relied upon Rhaenyra's reputation being sullied, which would have carried over to her as Queen. She would have started her rule with people whispering that she was a whore in the same way they currently whisper that her sons are bastards. In trying to get what he wanted Daemon actively harmed Rhaenyra, something he claimed in his next breath he would ever do; why on earth should Viserys trust that he loved her when his first act when back home was to harm her?

These discussions and scenes would be compared to Daemons actions with Blood and Cheese; anther instance of Daemon acting selfishly because he was frustrated but which harmed Rhaenyra's reputation and position as Queen. He needs to stop acting this way, or no one he loves will ever trust him to act without supervision.

The second vision should have been Jaehaerys, for Daemon to work through his reaction to having to manage both the duty as a ruler and that of a husband. Jaehaerys is seen in Fire and Blood and GOT as probably the greatest Targaryen King, however his actions as a father and grandfather were terrible and caused untold issues within the Targaryen family which Daemon is still dealing with. His disregard of his children left them feeling like pawns in his plans, his lack of care for his daughters and forcing them to not only marry but marry young lead of 4 of them dying before the age of 20 and 1 fleeing the continent, his decision to change the succession from Aemon's line (i.e. Rheneys) to his second son Baelon (who was alive with two sons - Viserys and Daemon) caused his wife to leave him and live apart for ~2 years, and his refusal to betroth Daemon to his youngest daughter instead of Rhea Royce caused Daemon years of anguish and didn't prevent his daughter Geal from dying a few years later.

Jaehaerys also put the succession to the vote in The Great Council, instead of deciding the succession for himself; he had already declared Baelon as his heir over Rhaenys when her father Amon died, he could have done the same again when Baelon died and simply stated that the succession stood unchanged and Viserys would continue to be his heir. Instead he called all the great houses and asked their opinions; not only did this fracture the relationships between Rhaenys and Viserys/Daemon as they stood as challengers to one another, it established a male heir as 'better' than a female one and it gave the houses the impression that their opinion on the succession could and should be asked for. Now The Greens are exploiting these precedents to argue that the houses (who follow Andal succession rules) should champion Aegon and ignore the previous Kings wishes. Jaehaerys acted as a ruler by soliciting his lords opinions, and not as a head of the family to prevent fracturing relationships.

As a result of or at least partially because of Jaehaerys' actions the Targaryen family at the time of his death had only 4 members (if you count Rhaenys as a Velaryon due to her marriage) and was fundamentally fractured, and now a succession is able to be challenged.

A Dream-Jaehaerys who praised Daemon for prioritizing the realm over his laboring wife would likely horrify Daemon. To be told that he was on the course to be that kind of ruler would be a great opportunity for Daemon to work through what kind of father and grandfather he wants to be within the context of also being a King. Daemon was shown to be quite a loving husband to those partners he loved and respected, so having him reaffirm that he doesn't want to be a great ruler at the expense of his family would be an amazing character moment.

The final vision should be of Aemma, his mother Alyssa, and his first wife Leana, to make Daemon realize that his 'role' is one traditionally held by women and yeah, news flash, it sucks. Oh your opinions and views, which are informed and intelligent, aren't being listened to? You can only advise the ruler and not just have your advice acted upon? Your power is dependent upon the person you married, and all your decisions, advice and suggestions must be run past them before they can be actioned? Wow, truly shocking, how horrible for you.

This is the reality of those married to the ruler and while that has up until now been a women you are seeking to change that and so it will be the role you occupy; Your duty is to advise and aid them, you will not be able to act in your own interest unless it aligns with theirs. Daemon would struggle with this, both as a man who has never needed to defer to his wife or to any woman to be 'allowed' to do anything, and also as a person who has never liked answering to others or having to have approval for his actions. When we see Leana and Daemon in Pentos it is clear that Daemon is in control of their life and decisions as a couple and a family; Leana wishes to return to Driftmark and needs to petition Daemon for permission to return. Daemon is not used to being the one needing to petition. This position is hard to navigate and so those who occupy it, and up until this point that was been women, have learned to work by influencing others and controlling those who are able to act without oversight or restriction.

It wouldn't be 100% the same for Daemon of course as he still is both a man in a world that values that and a proven leader, so his opinion will be sought out and heard. But he will need to come to terms with the reality of his role and the world in which he will operate.

If he wishes to be given greater freedoms to act independently then he must earn that trust, and to do so he needs to stop acting selfishly and re-prioritize his role as a husband and father over that of a leader and ruler. Then the actual ruler will trust in the decisions he makes enough that they will not need to constantly limit or review them.

And if he can make peace with the reality of his role within his family, in that he was never supposed to be King and will always be second to his wife, then he can finally be the support and comfort that he claims he wants to be to the woman he loves. He can stop judging her actions by the yardstick of his own perspective (i.e I would have handled that differently, and by not doing it my way you are doing it wrong) and truly help his family heal and reestablish themselves as the gods-amongst-men which he views them to be.

Alternate TUA season 4 suggestion

**spoilers**

Why don’t you have the Umbrella Academy having to give up their powers, instead of erasing themselves from the universe?

What if S4 still starts 6 years in from where S3 ended and we still see them all doing Normie things but also just kind of existing or killing time. And then we flashback to when they reset the universe and realised they had no powers, so they had to run somewhere safe to regroup only then Sir Reginald contacted them. He revealed that in resetting the universe it was as if they had been ‘born’ again; their powers were back to next to nothing, suppressed but still there.

Five then does his mathematical limbo-jumbo, reminds them all that their powers didn’t truly appear until they were teenagers, and calculates that with them being adults now it will take about 6 years for their powers to come back. So they decide to kill time until then, and split up to do what they want while they wait.

They haven’t fully resigned themselves to life without their powers though, and keep planning for the day they can be ‘themselves’ again. We see each ‘kid’ not taking an opportunity or cutting off a plan because they are expecting their powers to come back, so they’re planning for that day. Even Diageo and Lila have thought ‘let’s have kids now while we can before we become super-powered again’.

Episode 1 still goes the same way, though instead of drinking the marigold it’s just reactivated at the right time and they all get their old powers back. Or new ones because of the reset, either method works.

The whole season can go the same way (bar Five/Lila because Eww) but the revelation about the marigold is that they are going to have to voluntarily give it up, and it will then be destroyed. Maybe the method of extracting it is going to kill Sir Reginald too? And there’s no take backs and no further opportunities to be special.

And now these abused kids turned damaged adults are going to have to address that they both hate and love their powers; it’s the reason for their twisted childhood, a lot of their trauma, and why they’re fucked up people but at the end of the day it’s a huge part of who they are and their self worth is tied to it.

Give us scenes of all these broken damaged people having to overcome their internal view of themselves, in that the adults in their life always valued them for their powers and so they too have valued themselves due to how ‘special’ they are, and now they’re being asked to give that up? That’s going to be a hard ask for all of them, especially Viktor.

But they’ve grown, matured, lived as un-powered people and created lives for themselves. And yeah they didn’t intend to stay as un-powered normies and so those lives aren’t as great as they could be but at the end of the day they’re family and that’s all they need. And now they can truly plan for a future in this world without the fear of being to save it again.

So they decided to give up their powers to stop the world from ending itself, killing their abuser once and for all and ending that cycle. Now they’re free of the responsibility to save the world they can finally try and discover who and what they could be. They’ve grown past the mould others tried to fit them in, rejected the gifts those who controlled them most valued, and now they’re a family of choice not ability.

Thinking again about the Eternals and how bad they fumbled that potential. Because you have an Oscar winning director, who ensures breathtaking cinematography, solid performances from capable and exciting actors, with set pieces and choreography that is honesty very good.

And you fuck it up with the script.

It’s the same issue we had with Batman v Superman: there’s 3 good movies fighting for space in 1 film.

Firstly you could focus on relationships, exploring the found family/ageless guardians/eternal love story route with the ‘urgent problem’ just being a more powerful or capable version of the Deviants. From Friends, to The Umbrella Academy, via The Avengers, Avatar the Last Airbender, Big Hero 6 - we love a found family trope, especially if they’ve been brought (back)together to save the world. Ultimately the other Eternals are the only beings on the planet who can truly understand and empathise with each other so let’s explore and show that bond. Tell their story across the ages of the Earth with proper time spent to flesh out these conflicts and moments which define the group as a whole and how they individually relate to one another.

Tell the eternal love story of Sersi and Icarus, but consider the view of the brilliant Only Lovers Left Alive: Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swindon convincingly portray an ageless love, unconcerned with immediate worries. They are currently living apart but both know that eventually they will make their way back to one another, and they are in constant contact across the globe. Sersi and Icarus could be that: they have been/are/will be together but as they measure life by millions of years living separately for a couple of decades is nothing. They will be drawn back together again and in their hearts only the other can truly know and love them for all that they are. Explore this while they fight for the planet they both have come to love.

Or consider the less brilliant but arguably more entertaining eternal love in Hitchcock: Charlize Theron and Will Smith are thousands of years old and have been driven apart by circumstance but now Charlize loves another man and wants to spend his moral lifespan with him. Both acknowledge that it’s inevitable they will be together again as some point in the future but for the next 60ish years they will live apart so she can experience that love. Maybe in the time they’ve been apart Sersi has come to love another and now that war has brought Icarus back into her life and they have to fight together their different assumptions are being tested; Icarus assumed they would fall back into their love, while Sersi wants another 60 years with her mortal lover. All to the backdrop of fighting to wipe out The Deviants forever and be released from their duty.

Secondly you could tell the story of soldiers betrayed by their general and commander, using the same plot from the actual movie. The Eternals are foot soldiers stationed to defend the human population and have devoted their lives to their growth and safety. They’ve even stood aside when other threats revealed themselves (the MCU up to this point) because their mission was Celestially Ordained and to deviate from it would compromise their purpose. To realise that devotion was twisted and they must now stand aside and allow those they spent their lives protecting to die horribly would be traumatic; explore and tell that story. Again we love an underdog discovering they have been lied to or used and turning on their previous corrupt commander; Mission Impossible, Gladiator, all the Bourne movies. We *like* the story of cogs in the machine realising they have been used and standing up for their principals. Have them discover this news earlier and the movie then deals with their decision to accept their assigned role or rebel against their commander. Add Athena’s PTSD and past memory revelations to bring home the stakes of their choice, with a ticking clock counting down to ‘emergence’, and you’ve got a real tragedy brewing,

Furthermore, weave in the power struggle between Sersi and Icarus regarding who will be leading them with Ajax dead. Icarus is the loud and commanding ‘leader” type stepping forward to assume command, but Sersi is the reassuring rock for the team who each member finds themself turning to for advice, guidance, or to ask what she wants to do next with the expectation they will follow her. Or Ajax isn’t dead here but Icarus has fallen in line as her loyal lieutenant, assuming the rest would follow his lead. Instead of the eternal love story being the focus it’s instead a clashing of ideologies and personalities; upon learning of the betrayal and their assumed role Icarus and Sersi react very differently, showcasing what kind of leader they would be. The team being forced to fight one another as they also split along lines of ‘acceptable collateral’ allows for personal stakes and drama for the audience as well; we’ve spent the movie learning about this family and now they’re being forced to destroy one another…? In the words (and voice) of Benoit Blanc ‘it compels me’.

Finally, you could tell the mystery of an unknown threat present on the planet who takes out Ajax without warning or explanation. The team must gather or be gathered to solve the whodunnit, assuming Deviant involvement despite flimsy and unconvincing evidence, and the shared mystery brings the group together once more, forcing them to confront buried history and historic disputes while they plan an attack on the remaining clusters of Deviants. The Umbrella Academy S1 followed similar lines but you’ve got a list of movies that also circle this plot: R.E.D, The A Team, Watchmen. The revelation of betrayal from within doesn’t need to go hand in hand with the Celestials betrayal plot , as long as Icarus has another reason for turning on the team.

This plot could dive more into the tensions and strain of their posting to Earth; they’ve had different opinions on how problems with humans should be solved, leading to fall outs and separations. Sometimes one or other of them has ‘called it wrong’ and another has had to come bail them out of a situation they created. But what unites them was a shared purpose and assumption that they would what’s have one another. Losing that surety is scary and forces character exploration.

All of these ideas were present in the actual movie, but were fighting for screen time to do their plot lines justice. The Eternals was such an interesting concept and honestly was executed well in so many regards. But trying to tell all these tales, while also encompassing the breadth of time and circumstance they encompass, and allow for personality and individuality in each team member to be showcased… that movie is bursting at the seams and the poorer for it.

The Blood of Youth sequel predictions and analysis

To preface this, I have not read the novel and am going mainly based on my knowledge of season one. Thus, there are spoilers at least for season one (and possibly season two, if my suspicions are correct).

This will probably be a bit unhinged and won’t focus on the main cast outside of the parallels there may be between them and the characters that I’m focusing on. The characters I’ve selected are the ones that I suspect of playing a larger role in the second season.

1. Marquis Lanyue

If he isn’t revealed to be a villain, I’ll be shocked. The way his supposed lack of ambition is pointed out numerous times is remarkably suspicious. He has a big scary sword that was hyped up but barely used. He outright threatens one nephew, only helps another because he decided he wants to protect the healer taking care of him, and is pretty antagonistic in his internal dialogue towards the other nephew. There is definitely something weird going on between him and Prince Chi early on that seemed to fizzle out at some point, right around when Marquis Lanyue started helping out his other nephews. Anyways, this might be a crazy guess, but I kinda wonder if he’s going to work with Ye Ya the Night Crow to reanimate Prince Chi (at least, I think the Night Crow is still alive, unless I missed something). As a less crazy guess, I think he’ll be the main or major villain.

2. Mu Chunfeng

He has some interesting parallels to Marquis Lanyue that may become more prominent in the next season. Both characters are defined by their lack of ambition, but in Mu Chunfeng’s case, it seems more genuine. He actively goes on a quest to make sure his older brother can inherit the responsibility of leading the wealthy Mu family, which otherwise wouldn’t happen due to the older brother’s implied medical condition that renders him unable to produce heirs. This shows Mu Chunfeng’s disinterest in seizing power rather than the telling that accompanies the question of whether Marquis Lanyue is ambitious. Both Marquis Lanyue and Mu Chunfeng form an attachment to the healer Hua Jin, albeit of differing natures (father-daughter vs student-master). Mu Chunfeng, like Marquis Lanyue, also has a powerful sword that is hyped up but barely used. It should be noted that Emperor Mingde, who isn’t known for his ability to trust the right people, directly accused Mu Chunfeng of having ulterior motives. Anyways, my more measured prediction is that Mu Chunfeng’s older brother will die. For a more intense prediction, I think Hua Jin will end up dying, likely by accident, culminating in a battle between Mu Chunfeng and Marquis Lanyue.

3. Xiao Chong

The main thing with him is that it’s easy to forget that he’s very much a player of the game of thrones, so to speak. With all that Xiao Se does to earn his trust later in the show, it can distract from how Xiao Chong was making alliances with Wushuang City and how he was able to safely waltz in and out of a conversation with the fearsome Dark River. Even now that he’s risen to the throne, Xiao Chong will likely continue pulling strings. The point of the first season was that Xiao Se wouldn’t make a good emperor, but I do wonder if his arc in the second season will put him into conflict with Xiao Chong.

4. Bo Yong

This one is a bit of a stretch, I admit. His actor was one of the first I saw sharing the news about the sequel, but even before that I had some suspicions about his significance. In the scene where Jade Deity hides Jin Yan from the Director, he is notably absent. Could he have ratted Jade Deity out to the Director? He seems to have been involved in the plot to sneak Wuxin into the palace, which the Director appears to have known about. Anyways, given the events of the first season, the Five Eunuchs need their ranks replaced. Ling Jun and Bo Yong seem to be the most likely candidates, and will likely be involved in any palace drama.

5. Jin Yan

Honestly, I’m terrified for Jin Yan’s safety. Xiao Se and Jade Deity kinda have mirror arcs. Jade Deity longs for the Martial Arts World, and Xiao Se validates that. Xiao Se needs to learn what loyalty to his friends means, and Jade Deity shows him that. This, I think, is the reason Jin Yan needed to survive the first season. However, hints were dropped throughout that key episode that he’s done far worse things than some fun treason, and I have my doubts that the plot will continue to be so merciful to him. If he does die, the most heartbreaking and likely possibility is that it will be by Jade Deity’s own sword, as he is currently responsible for Jin Yan’s actions. If anyone else kills Jin Yan, that sword would definitely get covered in vengeful blood—given how many people Jade Deity has already lost, losing Jin Yan would surely cause him to snap. Less likely but still tragic, perhaps Jade Deity dies protecting him or has the injury Jin Xuan gave him act up, in which case Jin Yan may go mad with grief. Or maybe they travel together and live happily ever after… which could actually fit Jin Yan’s arc. He initially lacks meaningful connections, where he isn’t being manipulated/used. Jade Deity counters that as risking everything to protect Jin Yan. It is possible that Jin Yan could have a positive arc where he turns his greed towards building genuine relationships.

Well, it was certainly fun organizing my thoughts about parallels between the characters and exploring ideas related to the sequel. I’ve been resisting thinking of the future of The Blood of Youth for so long, but the announcement of season two has opened the floodgates to some surprisingly clear water.