Luckylyn

Leslie Knope, A Woman’s Woman in Government - This is a great analysis of the character from Parks and Recreation, and I think it fits the current discussion about how female empowerment can be portrayed.

Foreshadowing is not character development There were some traits in Dany that would have made her going bad make sense but the path to get her there didn’t support the outcome. They rushed when they didn’t have to and twisted things to hit set plot points quickly rather than take the time to build up to it.

Top Ten Reasons Carrie was the Worst They forgot that time Carrie demanded Samantha show up to go to a party with her after Sam had the facial peel that made her look horrible. When Sam who warned Carrie she looked terrible and was clearly embarrassed about people seeing her that way shows up, Carrie proceeds to treat Sam like crap and tries to avoid standing near her. She shows no sensitivity at all to how Samantha is feeling.

I missed it! I left the theater too soon. I’m happy he got that high five. I have to tell my niece because she’s fond of Combat Carl, too.

I loved this and it felt like a logical progression for Woody. My only complaint is that Winter Combat Carl never got is high five. I have such a soft spot for Combat Carl going back to toy Story of Terror and was thrilled to see that toy show up in the movie. I was hoping one of the end credits scene would have someone give him that high five.

After what she did to their mother’s wedding dress Tess deserved getting called out by Jane for her lies and self centeredness.

I hated Donna Noble’s mom on Doctor Who. The way she talks to her daughter in the episode Turn Left is just horrendous. On Growing Pains, I remember hearing a story that in real life Joanna Kerns was very supportive in getting Tracey Gold help for anorexia. Kerns went to the producers and insisted Tracey get time off of the show to get treatment. I think there was an interview where writers expressed some regret at the teasing dialogue Mike used because the writers claimed they didn’t know Tracey had an issue. I don’t know if that was sincere or just PR. In general, I don’t like tv parents who are bystanders to their kids being horrible to each other. On some shows like Modern Family the parents are participants in the snarking. Some playful teasing is fine but sometimes there’s an undercurrent of nastiness that goes a little too far. There’s a thin line between playful teasing and mean spiritedness.

I thought Stabler was killed off the show making it impossible for his character to return. I haven’t watched SUV in years so it’s possible I’m remembering wrong. I had no idea the reason the writers on GH never went forward with Jax/Alexis was because the actress was older. That really is a crap reason not to go for it. Especially when they went with icky pairings like Sonny/Emily where the age difference was big enough that Emily was a child when Sonny was already a grown man. At the time, I assumed Jax/Alexis didn’t happen because Ned/Alexis were popular. I definitely loved Ned/Alexis even though I loved the Jax/Alexis flirty friendship too. I was always sad the writers broke up Ned/Alexis because the characters were so well suited to each other and had so much chemistry.

I found a nice video that really captures the Jax/Alexis spark/friendship It’s possible to explore a pairings chemistry without will they/ won’t they games

I just thought of another example of a platonic pairing that had chemistry but never ended up together. Jax and Alexis on General Hospital. There was a storyline where Chloe who was clearly intended to end up with Jax needed a husband to gain an inheritance. Circumstances lead Ned who was dating Alexis to offer to be Chloe’s husband of convenience. Jax/Alexis faked a romance to fake a break up between Ned and Alexis. Chloe had a relative who caught on to the scheme leading Jax/Alexis to elope to prove their relationship was real. Interestingly the platonic love story of Jax/Alexis was more compelling than the romance between Jax/Chloe. Even though it was a marriage of conveince Jax/Alexis’ marriage was a happy one, and they were clearly having fun living together. They became best friends who flirted but never consummated anything. When the fake marriage was no longer needed, and they divorced they were both genuinely sad to end it. The scene where Alexis moves out of Jax’s penthouse makes it clear how much they loved their partnership. They continued to be close but never a romance. It was always clear how much they adored each other. The writers let the characters chemistry be shown but left them as friends. Sometimes I shipped them and at other times I was glad they were just friends because I was worried a romance would ruin their lovely dynamic. The writing on GH can be such a mess but Jax/Alexis was something they got right. Just because there’s a spark doesn’t mean a romance has to happen. Sometimes the flirting is more fun than the consummation.

John and Chiana are a good example of show writers acknowledging a pairing’s chemistry without making them into a will they/won’t they or part of a triangle. People can spark and not end up together. I think that is a creative direction to take some pairings just to let the attraction simmer while establishing why a romance wouldn’t work. With the right writing it doesn’t have to come off as contrived. My Boys did something like that with PJ and Brandon who were best friends and roommates. Brandon makes a move at the end of season one and PJ panics over the idea of risking their friendship so it never goes beyond one kiss. It was awkward between them in the beginning of season 2 but their friendship recovered. They remained platonic the rest of the series. I kinda wanted them together but they provided a believable reason for PJ to hesitate. She and Brandon were so close it that it made sense for her to be afraid of risking the friendship.

Aeryn and John on Farscape is a good example of a pairing having reasons that are organic for them not to get together too quickly. They are literally from different worlds and Aeryn grew up in a society where long term monogamous relationships were against the rules. Sleeping around was okay but love was not allowed. It made sense that loving John confused her. Then John has been abruptly separated from everything he knows, living with aliens, and dealing with some really traumatic events. So Aeryn is terrified of committment and John has some PTSD. A slow burn made sense for them. It never reached a point of me wanting to abandon the John/Aeryn ship, and I felt that although there were obstacles that there was forward momentum leading them closer and closer until finally they got together. Once they got together, they were solid and the drama came from outside sources and not romantic angst. Also I was fascinated by John and Chiana’s unique flirtatious one minute, brother/sister the next minute dynamic. They are a good example of close friends who are attracted to each other who aren’t intended to be each others endgame. One of my favorite scenes is Chiana telling John off but still kissing him hello with him just beaming at her despite how harsh she is talking to him. Despite the flirting, they were very supportive of each others relationships. In her own way Chiana tried to nudge John and Aeryn together, and John was very disappointed in how Chiana self destructively imploded her romance with D’Argo. They loved each other, were attracted, but understood they weren’t suited to a romance. In real life, there are people who care for who you have chemistry with but you don’t end up dating. Chiana and John were never obstacles to each others romances but just sorta sparked without it leading to anything. I kinda felt like the flirting was just another type of communication for them and that it was clear they would never try to break up each other’s relationships.

The will they/won’t they thing has an expiration. Sometimes writers find organic ways to take their time getting a couple together and other times it’s just contrived stalling that makes you lose interest in the couple. Sometimes obstacles writers place in the path of a couple have unintended consequences. I remember on Dawson’s Creek the impression I had that Dawson/Joey were the planned end game. To stall their progression from friendship to romance they introduced a storyline where Joey falls for Dawson’s best friend Pacey. I think the plan was for Joey/Pacey to be a temporary block for the Dawson/Joey romance but it backfired. Joey/Pacey had more chemistry and were a more compelling couple. Some fans stuck with the Joey/Dawson ship while others got on board with Joey/Pacey. I was totally on board with Joey/Pacey and was frustrated that they were broken up. I felt like the writers ended it because it was becoming more popular than their originally planned Dawson/Joey pairing. They tried to kill the pairing but the fans held on. The show concluded with a kind of compromise. Joey/Dawson were platonic soulmates while Pacey/Joey were true love. I agree that How I Met Your Mother spend years showing why Ted/Robin were wrong for each other and that holding on to Robin was blocking Ted from true love. So it made sense to end the show with Ted finally letting Robin go making the timing right for him to meet Tracey and finally have the romance he’d been waiting for his whole life. So the conclusion with Tracey being treated as in incubator for Ted’s kids who dies leaving Ted free to start chasing after Robin again with the encouragement of his children was just confusing and so disrespectful of the fans who had been rooting for Ted to finally meet Tracey. They managed to find an actress who lived up to being The Mother who the fans liked and just destroyed it. At least on Dawson’s Creek they changed direction when they realized the originally planned pairing wasn’t going to work for a satisfying conclusion.

I never drink coffee but every morning I make myself breakfast before work usually a cheese omelette with turkey bacon. I’m a “Don’t talk to me til I’ve eaten breakfast person.” I have to eat before I feel fully awake. I didn’t used to be that way but when I developed medical issues from being obese I had to make some changes which surprisingly meant more eating more meals more consistently. I’m now at a healthy weight and never skip meals like I used to when I was over weight. I make the time to cook and try to avoid getting takeout every day like I used to do. One trope I hate is a woman who’s set on not having kids ending up happily pregnant. Sometimes people do change their minds about having kids but there are people who choose not to. I wish the choice to be childless was treated as a valid choice and not a character flaw a woman has to get over.

Siren went in an original direction with their triangle. Ryn’s a mermaid that a couple, Ben and Maddie, end up helping. They all bond with each other. Ben and Ryn are drawn to each other immediately. Ben is particularly affected by Ryn’s Siren Song to the point of addiction and so she can’t sing to him anymore. She didn’t realize her song would have that effect on him. Maddie temporarily breaks up with Ben over it. Because Ryn isn’t human she doesn’t understand human social customs so she makes no effort to hide her attraction. When Ben kisses Maddie goodbye Ryn walks right up to him in front of Maddie and kisses him too. Maddie rolls with it because she understands that Ryn isn’t trying to be hurtful. She approaches Ryn’s behavior in a scientific way. Maddie and Ryn become close and start showing signs of attraction as well. Ben and Maddie are clearly thrown by how open Ryn is about physical attraction. They want to take things slow while Ryn is confused by why they don’t all just act on what they feel. The second season ended with them consummating their three way relationship. I love that these characters communicate so well with each other because they are literally from different worlds. Ryn is an innocent regarding human society but she can be quite dangerous. She has killed. In her society in the ocean women have all the power and there is family love but not romantic love. Woman decide who to mate with and the men comply. Sex for mermaids is about dominance and procreation leading frequently to the death of the male. Ben and Maddie are the first partners she’s ever had where sex is about pleasure and an emotional connection. It’s definitely a new take on a triangle. All love each other, have flaws, support each other, and no character gets put down to prop others in the triangle up. They’ve been other shows where I’ve wished the writers went into the polyamorous option. It’s tricky but with the right actors and writing it can be done organically.

I adored Hart to Hart They were glamorous and clever. Such a modern take on Nick and Nora Charles.

Goodnight - It's late in the Hub, and Jack and Ianto are going home.

Kings on NBC wasn't marketed well and had so much potential. Plus, Ian McShane is always fantastic to watch. I think the modern take on David and Goliath would have had a better shot on HBO or Netflix.

Water bottle error I wonder why the show didn’t require the actors and crew to use prop containers for beverages so that a forgotten item just blends into the background. Just give the actors goblets or flasks. I remember a director on a period film requiring that crew be dressed in period costume for a scene in a mirror room to make sure that they would blend in if they accidentally ended up reflected in the mirror. Sometimes mistakes happen no matter how careful people are but since there are people frustrated by the final season mistakes are more glaring and annoying. I didn’t even notice the water bottles until it was pointed out to me. It does seem to be a symptom of how rushed things were. There’s lots of examples in movies of surprising errors in that made it past edits. People are human and sometimes a person working closely on something will be so focused on one detail like an actor’s performance that other details like items forgotten on set get missed.

Why Daenerys was Cersei All Along

I was disappointed with Dany’s choice in this episode and think more development was needed to make her getting to this point feel less contrived. Still she’s always had a ruthless streak and had unrealistic expectations about how the people of Westeros would respond to her efforts to claim the Iron Throne when from their perspective she’s a foreign conquerer. Dany was absolutely wrong to continue the attack after the surrender. There was no justification for it. I can see a road map to how she got here but I think more time was needed to better build up to this. In the past Dany’s ruthlessness was directed at people we could argue deserved it which made the violence more understandable for the audience. Now I wonder what if Dany had arrived in Westeros and someone like Margery who was loved by the people and would have treated them well was on the Iron Throne? Would Dany have backed off? I don’t think it mattered if who was on the throne was good or bad. All that mattered was that they were an obstacle. Getting the Throne was everything. She thought she wanted to break the wheel but deep down she really wanted to control it. She was raised to believe her family’s birthright was destiny. The idea that the people of Westeros might not welcome her was something that never occurred to her. She has this certainty in her about what she’s entitled to and doesn’t have a back up plan for what else she could do with her life. She has no coping mechanism for failing to achieve her goals. Certainty is a hard thing to overcome for some people even when presented with situations that challenge their beliefs. Dany’s birthright is her justification but Jon’s claim as her brother’s heir is the better one. If birthright were all that mattered she would concede to Jon or suggest co-ruling. It’s not just about birthright and entitlement. It’s about power. Dany has experienced being powerless and she’s experienced being the major power. She can’t share it or step aside to concede to another. Her whole journey has been building to this and she doesn’t know how to adapt to anything else. I felt the same way about when characters would say Cersei did horrible things for the sake of her children. I never bought that excuse. Cersei wanted power. Because of the sexism of their society she was blocked from reaching a level she believed she deserved and intended to rule through her children. She did petty dangerous things out of spite like empowering the sparrows to the point where they could target the royal family with impunity just because she resented Margery’s influence and popularity. The fact that Margery’s influence was having a positive effect on the people’s attitude towards the crown and could have strengthened Tommen’s position did not matter to Cersei. What mattered was she was being pushed out of the position of power behind the throne. Cersei makes petty decisions that cause harsh blows to her enemies only to have horrific blow back on her make everything worse like killing Missandei instead of keeping her a hostage. I’m okay with no person getting an up close kill of Cersei but think she should have died alone with the walls crumbling on her.

I think Jon is going to end up killing Drogon or we’ll get a scene of Dany trying to burn Jon only to have Drogon refuse. Jon will either win Drogon’s loyalty over Dany or he’ll kill him as part of trying to neutralize Dany. Dany’s gone past the point of no return. Jon and Tyrion have to do something. The Dany that would murder innocent children even when the enemy has surrendered is not fit to rule. I would have preferred that instead she violated the surrender only to go after Cersei accidentally setting off a wildfire chain reaction like others have suggested. She still would have been crossing a line because going after Cersei violating the rules of surrender and Dany had been warned about the risk of wildfire. I think Jon will break the will. He’ll use force to get Dany off the throne and refuse to take it for himself. Then, Westeros becomes democratic. Or possibly Jon gives each of the 7 territories independence, and we’ll get 7 kingdoms. The length of this season has been detrimental to storytelling. There wasn’t enough time to build story arcs in ways that felt satisfying and organic.

I was so disappointed by Jaime’s conclusion. His redemption added up to nothing in the end. Cersei deserved a worse death. At minimum, she should have died alone with Jaime not reaching her in time. Jon tends by be motivated by what he believes is the greater good. He’s been so focused on trying to reassure Dany who he knows is insecure about Jon’s claim to the throne that he’s been hesitant to disagree with her. Now it’s clear he over that and he’s back to focusing on what he thinks is best. I can see him going after the throne because he no longer trusts that Dany will be a good queen. Jon does not seek power because of ambition but will accept power to help others. I really hoped Dany’s story would go another way. She was willing to kill beyond what was necessary to win. I bet Dany’s at the top of Arya’s list now. Dany had a vision of an empty Iron Throne covered in snow in I don’t remember which season. I think it symbolizes Jon Snow taking the Iron Throne but ultimately giving it up in favor of something more democratic. Jon should be very worried about Sansa. I think Dany’s a point where she’d kill her.

My take on Jaime/Brienne’s love scene is that he was nervous. It was established that Cersei has been the one woman he’s ever slept with. Sex is not something Jaime ever does casually. It means a lot to him. He’s not going to be faithful to one woman his entire life and then move on to another lightly. I think he was nervous to go there with Brienne because she is important to him. They’ve been through so much and her friendship has been vital to his redemption. He’s also aware that she’s been hurt by himself with his cruel words when they first were getting to know each other and by treatment of others. If he didn’t love her, I don’t think Jaime would have pursued Brienne. I think he was also a little afraid of rejection because Jaime doesn’t see himself as worthy of Brienne. I don’t think he believes he deserves to be happy because he feels guilt for the horrible things he’s done. He initially was trying to simply stay with Brienne at Winterfell and be happy, but he just couldn’t stay out of the conflict with Cersei. I think he was trying to “White Fang” Brienne to protect her. He’s pushing her away to try to prevent her from trying to fight at his side. I don’t think he believes he will survive what happens next. Why did he return to Cersei? There are multiple possibilities. -He doesn’t think he deserves better -He loves Cersei and thinks somehow he can save her -He thinks Cersei is doomed and wants to die with her -He thinks he has to atone for his sins by being the one to kill Cersei -He wants to protect his child that Cersei is carrying -He’s worried about what ruthless thing Cersei might do if she gets backed into a corner and believes he is the only who can get close enough to eliminate her. -He wants to give Cersei a compassionate death rather I have no problem with Brienne crying. There’s this idea that a woman has to be a certain way to be considered strong. I don’t see any conflict between Brienne the warrior and Brienne having a vulnerable side. Tears during a moment of heartbreak does not weaken her in my eyes. She’s human. She’s tough, but there’s always been a sensitive side to her. She’s had to be tough because of the ridicule she suffered. That she can feel heartbreak and keep going is what makes her strong. There’s no bravery if you never feel vulnerable ever. Tears don’t automatically mean weakness to me. I don’t think tears in a moment of distress should be demonized. Sam being afraid during the Long Night didn’t bother me. His lack of fighting skills leading others to be distracted protecting him to their detriment in battle is what annoyed me. Feeling fear on the battlefield is a normal thing. I think every single one of the people fighting were probably absolutely terrified to face the dead. I don’t judge someone for a moment of panic because I don’t think they can help it. I do judge someone who knows what skills they lack going into battle when they are aware they can contribute in other ways. I feel if you know you aren’t a good fighter than you need to help by staying out of the way of those who do know how to fight so they aren’t distracted trying to protect you.

Exactly, if the only place Cersei can hold is King’s Landing she’s not the true ruler. Dany should focus on allying with those of the houses that are left and getting the Iron Bank to support her instead of Cersei. Let’s say some conquerer took over all of the U.S. but didn’t capture Washington DC. If the people in Washington aren’t actually running things in the rest of the country they’ve lost even though they hold the capital. King’s Landing is one place. Isolate Cersei there while consolidating alliances elsewhere surrounding her. The Iron Throne is a powerful symbol but simply sitting in it is not enough to rule. Joffrey sat on the Iron Throne but Tywin was the real power running things. Dany needs to focus on practical power rather than symbolic power. Make her own capital and cut Cersei out by stripping her of any allies, cut off her access to supplies and increase her financial instability through gaining support of the Iron Bank.