tennisgurl

I love this show, and its characters, and complaining about them just makes me love them more. What is wrong with me?

After a long and tragic absence, I am BACK...to endlessly question why I have spent so much time and energy thinking about this show. Robin Hood, to me, is one of the bigger failures of this show. The guy did not ever act like Robin Hood should act, at least not this season.He is just some hot guy with a convenient cute child so Regina can have her happy ending, or "tragically" lose it. Nothing more.

Yeah, I always feel like when the people behind a show(or the people doing its publicity) start to cater to the loudest parts of fandom too much, or get a little too shippy, things can quickly turn bad. Not just on this show, I know tons of shows where the entire romance arc was changed because of what the fans wanted, or they tried to get shippers attention by playing up the romance stuff in the advertising to draw more interest. Usually, that doesn't bother me that much (some shows, like Veronica Mars and Arrow were actually improved when they went with the fan favorite couple, IMO), and the CW is constantly playing up love triangles in their advertising, which is annoying, but isn't usually too offensive. The problem here is that the writers are both listening to that loud part of fandom and changing the show (and NOT in a good way), and manipulating that audience for ratings. Regina and Emma as a couple isn't a matter of not wanting two women to fall in love, its that Regina is a horrible person who ruined Emma's life, as well as the lives of just about all her friends and family. And she really doesn't seem to be sorry. Sorry shippers, I can forgive characters doing some pretty lousy crap to their perspective partners, but Regina has crossed the line about 30000 times. Shippers do tend to be the loudest voice in the room, and while maybe you can use them to see what is and isn't working on a show, keep it in perspective writers! Especially on this freaking show. The SwanQueen publicity is just more of the show runners catering to the fans who support their "All Hall Saint Regina" agenda. And I don't use the word Queerbaiting all that much, because I think it gets overused a bit, but teasing the one possible LGBT pairing (now that Mulan has disappeared), that they have already said will never happen, just to get people to stop complaining about the lack of representation? That's not representation, its Queerbaiting and making excuses and its not ok!

The Age of Ultron trailer is seriously the greatest thing ever. I have no idea what the hell is even happening, but I desperately want to. And the hammer scene! Cap managed to jiggle it just a smidge! And Thors confused reactions! Followed by that bad ass version of the Pinocchio song. Oh Disney, its your world, we`re just living in it. As for the episode, I thought it was great. This show is just on a freaking role. I am so so happy I decided to stick it out with this show, because this season has been awesome! I thought the Bobbi/Hunter stuff was hilarious, and added some good comic relief to a heavy episode. I wonder if Bobbi and Hunter will kind of be the new FitzSimmons, as in the comic relief duo that have a close relationship and work together all the time and drop lots of funny lines, while Fits and Simmons have gone so much more dramatic this season. It looks like they really aren't going with redeeming Ward (or diminishing his level of nuttiness), which is pretty ballsy really. That scene with Ward and Coulson was just stone cold. Just like how they decided to keep Fitz in recovery, and Simmons dealing with what I think are feelings of guilt, they are really committing to breaking up last years status quo, and I admire them for it.

I really like Iris and I really like Barry, but I don't see them as a couple. I see more of a sibling thing, THAT I can totally get behind. Really enjoyed this episode! Wentworth Miller was a great Captain Cold, and I`m pretty pumped to see where he goes from here. I also enjoyed seeing Cisco get to do something more than be comic relief, and the emergence of Wells dark side more and more. And Felicity! I don't care how many uncomfortable shoes they put you in, I love you to bits and pieces!

As of now, I am actually still interested in how the Snow Queens backstory is going to go. Somehow, when she said she "wants a family that loves her", it didn't really seem sad, it sounded kind of creepy. Like, she just wanted a family in the way a kid wants action figures. They`re going to love her, and that's it. Not so much a family as possessions, to make Snow Queen feel better, without expecting to be loved in return. I hope they work the actual Snow Queen story into this, because I think it could make for a really interesting story about selfish love vs. true love! Of course, then the show would awkwardly have to show how dang selfish Regina's love is (She loves Henry because she wants a child that's hers, on her terms, she loved Robin, because she wants a man to love her, again on her terms, and the family that comes with him, to emphasis how wonderful and loving she is) and we cant have that!

I love this show. Its totally insane and I cant get enough of it. I feel like they should install a dundunDUN machine for all these dramatic revelations, they just keep coming! I normally don't like narrators very much, but this guy cracks me up. The part about Michael not being a virgin just cracked me up. Please keep it up, show!

First of all...are they actually going to address the fact that these characters both exist in their own universes, AND in fictional stories in the "real" world? Because that has been bugging me for FOUR FREAKING SEASONS!!!!! Please let them deal with this! Also, please let Hook tell Emma the truth ASAP! He's the only bad guy who's redemption arch I actually buy into, please PLEASE don't have him flipping and flopping all over the place like Rumple/Regina! Please don't ruin Captain Swan! I didn't want to ship then, but then you made them awesome and I had to! You made me care, show! Don't screw me over with some lame plot contrivance to keep them apart! But beyond that, the Captain Swan stuff was pretty dang adorable, especially when Emma asked him out, and he practically threw the dart out of the room he was so surprised. Loved Snow and Charming's reactions, especially Snow taking pictures. Its not much, but its good to see at least a little bit of Snow and Emma. Pissed as hell at Rumple. I am kinda over him, although RC is still killing it 100%. He really hasn't grown at all in four seasons. Its pretty disappointing. Cracked up at the weather nonchalantly mentioning the temperature near the ice-wall going down. Life in Storybrooke! Still Love all the frozen stuff. All the actors (including Sven!) are wonderfully likable, and I really enjoying their story. I feel like how I feel about the episode as a whole will depend on if it actually goes anywhere this season. I love seeing Will again, and I really want to know what's going on with him and Anastasia.

That's really why I`ve been enjoying this season (minus a lot of the Regina stuff). It seems like they`re actually having some fun again, at least when they aren't rushing through plot point after plot point, and wasting our time with pointless drama. This show is capable of bringing the drama when it really wants to, and at some point, I feel like it could have been a legit drama, but I much prefer it now as more of a slightly campy dramedy.

I am also really enjoyed this season so far as well. Sure it has its usual problems, but as of now, the good far outweighs the bad!

Yeah, but the goofy effects are a part of the shows charm! I love the awful CGI, almost as I love the good CGI (I thought the rocks troll stuff looked pretty good at least)! I am constantly trying to figure what the writers are doing with Regina. It just makes me nuts that she keeps swinging back and fourth. Maybe its realistic that she struggles with goodness, but the problem is, I don't feel her struggle. I just feel like its inconsistent writing. She just swings back to evil so quickly (and God knows how many peoples she's kept locked up in her jail house, even while she was "good") that her changes to good never seem genuine. They just need to find something new to do with the character.

Not happy about the move, but I am so thrilled the show is coming back, I don't even care that much! And with 13 episodes! I don't get FXX, do they offer it online anywhere? So excited!

It seems like the show is hitting just the perfect blend of serious/campy, and I love it! I already feel like the actors have a good feel for their characters, and I am realy enjoying all the performances. I think the actress playing baby Catwoman in particular is doing a great job. I really hope we hear about the Dollmaker again. I am curious as to what the heck he wanted all those kids for (I am just gonna go ahead and guess its not for a free trip to Euro Disney).

So...yeah. Think there is anyway I can find my own time traveling stones, and just skip ahead to April 4th? Anyone up for a quick jaunt to Scotland? Anyone? I will have more to say later, but for now, I just loved this episode (as hard as some of it was to watch) and I have loved all of this show so far. If my time travel plan doesn't work out, I might have to crack and read the books!

I desperately hope the next "land" they get thrown into is the Marvel universe. Regina get tossed into a land where she's like the 57th most powerful supernatural being in the world, and literally EVERYINE has a tragic backstory, so whenever she starts her poor sad Regina tears, there will be a lot of "Yeah yeah, mean mom dead boyfriend, been there done that". Then Spiderman shoots her with webs, and wraps her in a cocoon. And there will be much rejoicing. The more I think about Regina hunting down the books author, the more meta it gets. Adam and Eddie better watch their backs. They might be presidents of the Regina Fan Club, but they done pissed her off now...

I had to run off right after the episode, so its just now that I can get all my thoughts out... The Good: I enjoyed all the frozen stuff. The characters were all pretty spot on and likable, especially Anna. I loved Frozen, so I was a little worried about this, but if they keep this up, I should be pretty happy. Plus, Cappie from Greek! Captain Swan! I loved when how just as Hook was complaining about how there's always some emergency (I feel ya Hook) Grumpy runs by screaming "we`re under attack!", and you just see him get this "Oh for the love of God, here we go again" look on his face. It was just awesome. Pretty much any scene with him and Emma was 100% golden. The effects actually looked pretty good, and I love that this show gives characters excuses to say things like "we`re being attacked by an evil snowman!" Marian actually made a good impression, yelling at Regina about how she was evil, and asking why everyone was just hanging out with her. Like, thank you Marian! Iv been yelling that at my TV for two freaking seasons! Acting was all pretty good. I even thought the scene where Robin tells Regina he has to go back to Marian was well done. I like that they are talking about the book again. The whole storybook thing has been kind of lost in the shuffle, but I`m still curious about it. Who's the author? How are they stories in this world, and also real? The Bad: SHUT UP REGINA! I just, it took every fiber of my being not to scare my neighbors by screaming at the TV. I must have scared the crap out my Twitter followers, I was raging so hard. This is ridiculous! So now she's evil? Or not? Or she`ll just cry more crocodile tears, whatever. News flash Regina: Being a good person, a really good person, means you stay a good person even when the going gets tough! You sacrifice for the greater good, and for the people you love. You should be at least a LITTLE happy that the man you claim to care about was reunited with his dead wife, and the little boy she clearly wants to raise as her own now gets his beloved mother back. But NO, its all about Regina. AND she's been keeping Sydney locked up all this time? Even after her supposed turn to the light? Where she used freaking LIGHT GOOD SPARKLE MAGIC!?!?! GOOD GUYS DONT IMPRISON PEOPLE FOR STUFF THEY DIDNT DO REGINA! GOD! *clears throat* anywho... Very little Charmings, and little from the rest of the supporting cast. Don't you dare skimp on my beloved Charming! Emma, don't feel bad about saving someone from Regina! Not Ever! Not the most exciting opener ever Still don't know how I feel about Rumple and Belle. I find them kind of interesting, but also kind of creepy. All in all, if you cut out all the Regina crap, it was a pretty solid opener, albeit a little slow. Oh, and I swear, if that hat means that the author, the mastermind pulling all the strings, is Mickey freaking Mouse, I will take back every bad thing I have ever said about this show (ok...not really) because that is such an insanely, bizarrely awesome idea. Come on, bring on the Disney Mythos!

That article was awesome, and actually did sum up a lot of the reasons why I love this show (sexy dudes, kickass ladies, total insanity, scenery chewing). I think my favorite line in the article was "Consider that one time a guy actually turned into a man-size wooden puppet, and everybody on Once was just like, "Yep, that's how it is here." And yes, I will be drinking A LOT of wine while watching!

You might be right, its been awhile. The last half of season two was sort of a blur. A stressful, surreal blur. Now I remember how Mr. Gold had them like, stock piled. She cries so much, its easy! But yeah, I totally agree, Greg could have been the "villain with a rightful grudge", but they just dropped the ball, and made him completely unsympathetic. Almost like they were retroactively justifying what Regina did him. And that's just messed up.

Oh my God, I cant believe I forgot about the "Regina's magic tears of pain" potion. That sounds more like a parody than something that actually happened, it is that ridiculous. I would say it sounds like fanfic, but that would be an insult to fanfic writers everywhere. Like, that's one of those things that is just so horrible, its hysterically funny (unlike the whole whitewashing the bad guys pasts of murder, rape, and mayhem, which is just horrible). Like, her pain is just SO MUCH BIGGER than everyone else ever. I mean, off the top of my head, I can name like 20 fictional characters who have had crappier lives than Regina, and are still 100 times better people. Hell, I can name multiple characters in this show who have had crappier lives, and are still better people. But Regina's magic tears of sadness say HER PAIN IS BEST (not that its a contest or anything, but geeze writers. Have some perspective). It really is some kind of miracle that I stuck around after that. These writers are damn lucky the actors are so good here, and for those slimmer's of brilliance that appear every once in a blue moon...

That #AskOutlander Twitter Q and A was so adorable. Those two are just so freaking charming!

I just...I don't get it! Have they never seen any other stories? Do they know something about plot and character? Can they seriously not see that there are better ways to do this? On Angel, one of my favorite bad guys was Holt, a guy with a legitimate grudge against Angel. It didn't try to hide the things Angel did while he was evil (ironically, he had a much better excuse than Regina, being soulless and all), and he STILL felt awful about what he had done. Holt clearly went way past the deep end by the end, but the show clearly still had sympathy for him, as well as for Angel. We knew about his struggles to be a good person, but to a person who's life he ruined? Does any of that matter? Having one of Regina's angry former victims be a bad guy could be an awesome storyline, and a way to explore her past and her possible redemption, like the Holt storyline was with Angel. I mean, maybe they could have done that with Greg, but NOPE, they decided to just focus on him being an evil asshole who deserves to get his shadow ripped out, never to be seen again. So much potential, gone.

Very interesting stuff about historical accents and dialects! I have always found the history of regional accents to be interesting, and I would actually love for some show some day to address it! Its been so long, I honestly forgot how much I love Abbey. What was said earlier was right on the money. She's tough and competent, but she's also playful and lovable and fun. It seems like "strong" female characters these days have to be tough, badass, and stoic all the time, but without any real conflict or personality. Abbey has tons of personality, and I love it! My new theory? Katrina cut the horsemans hand to get his blood on it, so she could do a spell later on. At least hopefully!

So happy to see the show back! Its the only place where we can see a shirtless torso without a head strutting around a cabin, trying to flirt with his 200 year old ex-girlfriend. I was pretty freaked when they said Jenny was dead, but I should have known better. Jenny is too big a badass to die off-screen! I will probably have more to say about this later, but I am just so thrilled to have this show back, its been WAY too long. Ok, I think I already have my favorite scene. Icabod and Abbie try to fist pump. That was too adorable.

I was really looking forward to this show, and was a little worried by some of the mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed this! Of course, my love of Ben M knows no bounds (and he brought his Ryan Atwood wife beater along with him when he moved to Gotham!), and I thought he was great here. Nice mix of tough and idealistic. So far, I like all the other actors as well. Donal Logue is perfectly cast. I really loved the chemistry between Gordan and Bullock. And Jada Pinkett Smith is clearly having a blast, and I hope we get a lot more of her. The cinematography was great, and it all had kind of a Dark City/Blade Runner vibe to it, very noir. I know that some reviews have complained about all the references to the Batman mythos, and how they're kind of pointless, but I loved them all! As a big Batman fan, I got a pretty big kick out of all the references, and I feel like after this episode, they'll dial down on them anyway. I mean, its called Gotham. Even if Batman's not around yet, they still need to show that's its Gotham, not just some random city. I love seeing how his birth coincides with the birth of Gotham as we know it, full of super criminals and even greater corruption. It adds color to the show. Basically, I loved it, and I am already adding it to my "must watch" list. Its also a pretty perfect companion for Sleepy Hallow!

This was probably my biggest surprise of the Summer. I almost forgot about it in the glut of Summer sitcoms, and I just decided to catch an episode because I was bored one night. I am so glad I did because I am unbelievably in love with this show! I loved the return of the actor that Edgar hired to be his fake British roommate, I loved Jimmy asking him about the Scotland situation, I loved that they reunited the kitty with the bookshop owner, I loved Gretchen trying to figure out how Becca was great at blowjobs, I loved the reunions of both Edgar/Jimmy and Gretchen Jimmy, I loved Paul admitting he and Lindsey aren't working (even though I really hope we continue to see Paul around), I loved the barbeque, I just love it. The craziest part is, I am so totally on board with Jimmy and Gretchen as a couple. Like, this kind of show lives and dies by the main couple, and I just love them together. I literally awwwwwwed out loud a few times this episode! That hardly ever happens! Please, please renew! I want to see the inevitable shenanigans of Jimmy/Gretchen/Edgar as roomies!