arjumand

I like this idea - at first I thought it might even explain why Dolores killed the Ghost Nation host in the first episode. Then I remembered that she also killed the entire army she ostensibly went to recruit. Ugh, Dolores. Thinking about that - the hell? Why would she do that? I thought she needed an army or whatnot. I honestly don't know what Dolores is about anymore, except revenge. Yeah, it would be great if Ghost Nation were the truly sentient hosts in the park, responding to the revelation of the truth with "Yes. We know. (Eye roll)". It would also justify the fact that they ignored Maeve's commands, which worked on all the other hosts. I'm finding all these 'peripheral' storylines more interesting than the one we're supposed to be interested in, Dolores and her band of not so merry men.

Yes. Exactly. I can't be arsed to watch the episode, but I watched relevant parts on youtube, specifically the fight and the conversation with Anatoly. I'm not an Anatoly fan, so I have nothing to say about that, really, but the fight was . . . not good. Either Oliver was holding back, or it was scripted like that. Remember the hallway scene in Season 1? Season 1 Oliver took down 20 guys in the same time it took him to immobilise Diaz. Season 1 Oliver would have gone for the neck snap, not the empty ultimatum. I love this gif, and in my case, I need to express how much I hate these writers. They're writing Diggle like a childish, whiny asshole (But he said I could be the Green Arrow now! It's not fair!), writing NTA as the most horrible unsympathetic jerks, and simultaneously making it clear that we're supposed to like them, and writing our protagonist superhero as a loser. Ugh. This is reaching Detective Tiny Hands nooner levels of yuck.

"Witness me, blood bag!" I love Jake, especially when he's quoting movies! I enjoyed this, but I'm not the pickiest when it comes to B99 - I've enjoyed and rewatched everything except the stupid trial of stupid prison which pissed me off so much last season. I liked Pimento here - he's such a mess, and it's hilarious when we find out that he's only been an insurance investigator for two weeks. And just when we think it's Pimento's crazy that makes him suspect Boyle for the arson, his boss says that the turpentine was all the evidence they needed to accuse Boyle! I mean, seriously? Wow.

What the fuck did I just watch, and why? I mean, at first, I amused myself with yelling "NO ONE CARES, CURTIS! NOT A FUCK WAS GIVEN THAT DAY, CURTIS!" every time he mentioned Rene. Then it slowly dawned on me (in all fairness, I was playing Candy Crush Soda at the time, and I'm having a really bad year, healthwise) that this was going to be a . . . shudder . . . Diaz-centric episode. Then I fast forwarded through most of it. And at the end, I'm rewarded by having Oliver, aka the fricking Green fricking Arrow, appear for a few seconds, having been replaced by a pod person. As I'm really a nice person at heart, I'm not going to insert the Donald Sutherland point and scream from the 1978 Body Snatchers movie. But I really, really want to. I mean, seriously, who was that guy? The only good thing about Oliver going back to his Season 1 persona was going to be his intensity, bad-ass fighting and imagining all the bed-breaking sex he and Felicity would be having . . . I mean, what? Who said that? Oh, Arrow. What the fuck has happened to this show?

“Do you know what it means to “clap back”, Raymond? Be ? cause ? I ? do. ? “ Poor Kevin.

I know, right? I mean, he's replacing his daughter with a sociopathic murderer, just because they look and sound the same. Come on, dude. Though I'm starting to worry that the showrunners think this can actually happen, that BS (heh. Never stops being funny) can be redeemed. I've been going through the thread since the episode, liking various posts, not feeling any particular urge to post myself. This episode was the very definition of meh. Yes, someone died. I didn't care? I mean, we were told all along that he couldn't die. But he can if fake Laurel screams long enough? I guess? I know I've wished for death during some of KC's scenes in the past - does that count? Whatever. And regarding the whole NTA thing - are we the exception? Does the majority of the show's audience love these guys and want more of them? Because otherwise I don't understand why the writers are doubling down on these people being utterly obnoxious in their every appearance. I mean, I love Oliver's tactic of just ignoring all their dumb comments, I'm just wary of interpreting it as a tactic, rather than 'Rene/Curtis/Dinah lands a zinger that no-one on OTA can answer'. That's the same reason I'm scared of letting myself enjoy the Olicity - I've been burnt before by this show. The minute I relax and let myself enjoy stuff, it gets snatched away from me. Oh, and another thing - why did Vince have to phone Dinah just outside the evil lair? Couldn't he, like, put a few miles between himself and the supervillains before he started ostentatiously smashing phones and so on? And what kind of awesome vigilante meta lets himself be blindsided by an ageing Russian mobster? Ugh, this show.

I would definitely want to know (because then I wouldn't bother reading it, heh) - and as I read most of my fic on AO3 nowadays, I'd be pretty pissed off if the main character died and there wasn't 'main character death' as one of the tags. In my own stuff I always include the tags, even though I usually select the 'choose not to use archive warnings' option - but then I warn in the tags. I warned for minor character death, I warned for cancer, and I warned for rape/noncon. I'm not in it to blindside people with stuff they might be triggered by.

Scully: "You guys didn't hear that, did you?" Terry: "I'm still hearing it! I'm never gonna stop hearing it!" And I love all the great use of music in the episode, starting with the Ode to Joy during all of Jake's Die Hard 'tributes'. Though I must say my new favourite quote is in The Favor: "Hi there. I'd like to humiliate some hussies, and I'm in a hurry." Who would have thought something Hitchcock says would be my new favorite quote?

Wow, look at those ankles. What the hell was Jackie O. talking about? I am green with envy. Absolutely. I don't know what was funnier, reciting Jerusalem while the group portrait was more like a rugby scrum, or that terrible story of the shopgirl inspired by Margaret and buying a scarf or something.

It reminds me of the episode when Mountbatten comes for lunch and tells Elizabeth that the food is dreadful "It's like the schoolroom - everything that should be hot is cold and vice-versa", and then in Paterfamilias we find out that I love how the glamour is being taken out of the image of the Royal Family in that time - it remember reading that Diana got a real culture shock when she experienced all this (though she went to boarding school herself, so it shouldn't have been new to her!). But all those horses and horse guards were my favourite part of the episode too - I love a power play like that.

Exactly! One of the saddest things for me in that episode was realising that Philip, years later, really blamed himself for Cecile's death, instead of brushing off his monstrous father's bullshit. And that he clearly took the wrong lesson from what Mountbatten was trying to tell him.

I'm not sure if this is a spoiler, as the entire series is out now, but it was pretty clear to me that those were When we've seen Frank deal with cops etc, people just doing their jobs, he takes them down but doesn't kill them.

So, the binging has concluded! I thought I was going to save this for the holidays, but then I watched the first episode and was lost, heh. I knew this was going to be super violent, so wasn't really shocked by that, though there were a couple of scenes where I had to look away. I'm glad that someone thanked Frank at the end, and I'm super glad he took down Billy. I kind of guessed that Billy was a comics villain when he kept not dying, so I wasn't expecting him to die at the end. I didn't hate Iron Fist as much as others did, and I enjoyed watching the Defenders, but the Punisher became my favourite character after Daredevil 2 (the season in which I was bored by Daredevil, annoyed by Foggy and Karen, and super-bored by Electra), and now I'm super conflicted: sure it's great that Frank got closure and some kind of peace, and he seems to be headed towards a healthier place . . . but I love the Punisher, dammit! This was pretty good - I can't deny that there were places where I tuned out, and there could have been more Frank + skull-vest and less Dinah/Billy sex-lympics, but I still enjoyed it. I too wonder where they could go in a second season, but I want it!

Just binged on 7 episodes in a row (with judicious use of the ffwd button, to be honest - dear Frank, I'd like you to start punishing for real, sometime soon), and I'm kind of enjoying it, though not as much as when I really fell for the Punisher, during Season 2 of Daredevil. I realised straightaway that they were going to get rid of Bennett - what I didn't realise was that Frank didn't take Billy's offer not because he realised that Billy was one of the heroin guys, but because he wanted to deal with Agent Orange first, and then maybe take Billy's offer. Dammit, Frank. Also, come on Dinah. I know, Ben Barnes is hot, but come on, you guys. I mean, sure, for Frank he's a brother, etc, but isn't it a teeny bit suspicious that he's practically the only one left, except for Curtis? I like that Frank and David are getting on better, but all of David's "it's so awesome and scary to think of going back to my life" talk is starting to sound like the soldier in the war movie who is going on "one more mission!" (i.e. dead. He's a dead man). Now I want to watch the rest of the episodes, but it's late.

Picturing all this has entertained me more than the entire episode. Seriously, Black Canary face-planting and the entire crew being like when faced with a baby skunk (I know why, it's just really funny to picture!) is giving me life. I mean, this episode was so dull. Except for Slade's incredible MURDER RUN (which makes me raise a reluctant glass, cos I hate the guy), it was just so dull. And Kris Holden Reid and Kris Holden Reid's terrible accent have put me off Kris Holden Reid forever.

I've been saying this from the beginning - as soon as I started the episode, had the volume on full blast and couldn't understand half of the previouslies. I'm getting used to rolling my eyes, and plugging in external speakers / headphones. I didn't notice the poorly looped ADR as much as previous episodes, but I think I was distracted by the sheer pain of the "Cayden James is destroying the internet!!" dumbness. Rest of ep - I enjoyed it. It's actually the first time I've been slightly ok with Oliver not being GA (temporarily, mind). I enjoyed the role reversal more than I thought I would, though I didn't enjoy the cock-blocking, lol! I mean, Slade Wilson? Slade Wilson makes you drop everything and race off. Slade Wilson snaps his fingers, and Oliver Queen, the man whose mother Slade Wilson murdered, in front of him, is there. Ok, I guess. I also was annoyed by the amount of times Dinah didn't know something. I know we need someone for exposition dumps, but the same person more than once in the same episode? Kind of makes her look stupid. And as has been said above, BS!Laurel (it works on two levels!) needs to stop walking like she's on a (very slow) catwalk. Just stop it, ffs. Still, it was a good episode, Michael Emerson is nicely menacing, and no William (hooray! Sorry, don't care about him). About time, show.

I've watched it twice now, and the second time around was even better, because this time I wasn't bracing myself for the proposal to end up as a heist-winning fake-out. I cried both times. This was such an amazing episode. I can't believe that the best couple-type relationship on tv right now is on a half-hour sitcom/ cop show. I mean, I even didn't mind the Handmaid's Tale bit - I read the book years ago, didn't care for it, and never watched the show (but Amy calling Jake 'Ofamy' was cute in a twisted way). And Holt stole all the best bits, as per usual! (To Cheddar) "That's my doggie! You betrayed me. You'll explain yourself later. Return to my office." I think I'll watch it again.

Thank you for this, because seconds after this episode finished I definitely said "I'm done." I mean, what the fucking fuck. First of all, Oliver should have emptied a gun into Anatoly as soon as he said William's name. Second of all - oh why am I even bothering? I mean, most of the episode, Felicity and Curtis were on a whole different show, about wacky coders and their antics, Oliver was on As the World Turns (along with Agent Watson - I mean, really? A news station shows a photo and the FBI is there! Come on, now), and Anatoly was proving my point about him always being an asshole, but I could have done without being proven right, thanks. Digg apparently no longer has a wife and son, or they don't count? Somehow? I'm not angry, Oliver. I'm just disappointed.

All of this, but especially the part in bold. I mean, when he was just gaming and ignoring Oliver I was letting it slide, but wittering on about 'the bad man' was just painful to watch. Have these people ever met a child? For fuck's sake. Just fudge the timeline (as they usually do) and make him 14, and let's be done with the bullshit. Oh, but then we couldn't have the sooper-speshul dramatic reveal that it's actually Oliver in his nightmares. I mean, I don't know if I can judge the kid for his acting, when he's clearly being given a script and character direction to follow. Also, yes - what is the point of him living with Oliver, a man who is balancing two lives already? Ugghh.

I'm seriously underwhelmed by this. So much Dinah (who I don't give a crap about, one way or the other) - so many scenes of: Dinah meets Laurel! Camera draws back and starts circling! LET THEM FIGHT! I found the flashbacks both annoying and confusing, and wish they'd gone with a more linear "This is how they got off the island" structure. And William's weirdness and annoyance has reached new levels. Seriously, he's supposed to be 12? Really? Which 12-year old goes on and on about "the bad man"? Oh, I get it - that's so at the end we can have the stinger of "Guess what, it's Oliver! Tee hee, aren't we clever?" No. It's just really, really stupid. And I don't know if it's just the one I watched, but the sound was really low. Like, "we didn't pay the sound guy" low. And then, out of many inexplicable acting choices, we had a number of the cast doing the tough guy whisper. I expected someone like Curtis to spend most of the episode saying "WHY IS EVERYONE WHISPERING? WHAT'S GOING ON? ARE WE EXPECTING AN AVALANCHE?" At first, Dinah was the only one I could understand (I've had a long day, and I didn't feel like putting headphones on), then she started hissing her dialogue too. Dear Quentin, I love you a lot. But, for the record, couldn't give a fuck about Laurel, whether it's real Laurel, fake Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel, undead Laurel, etc. I DO NOT CARE. Finally, is the entire SCPD made of stupid? That is all.

Yes, some of the artists' impressions made me giggle. I don't know what was funniest, the one who was clearly Ian Somerhalder with long blond hair, or the one who was Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H'ghar) with long blond hair. I honestly didn't mind the actor's appearance, even though I really thought it was the same actor who played Viserys at first. I liked that fact that it was done on purpose by the showrunners and director. They were brothers, so why shouldn't there be a resemblance? I'm not sure if it was in the books or show only, but Viserys is supposed to have styled himself after Rhaegar, so the hair works too. This, definitely.

Didn't GRRM say in one (or more) interviews / commentary to the books that the incest was meant to cause the Targayens' downfall? All that inbreeding was to keep the bloodline pure, etc, but it resulted in mental and physical defects, so you end up with a family which, as Aemon said, when a baby is born the gods flip a coin. And about Aemon, Archmaester Marwyn says: Ask yourself why Aemon Targaryen was allowed to waste his life upon the Wall, when by rights he should have been raised to archmaester. His blood was why. He could not be trusted. I saw that as fitting with one aspect of the books (and the show) - that you can make elaborate plans which all go to shit because you forget that things go wrong; as Doran says to Arianne Martell: We princes make our careful plans and the gods smash them all awry. I also believe that Cersei was expecting Jon to balk at her "Just stay neutral" demand, because he wouldn't trust her not to attack the North once the truce was ended, because they've got the least amount of manpower at that point, not having much to start with. The fact that Jon had already pledged to Dany just made it easier for her to storm off. See, if Cersei had said yes immediately, no one would have believed her. She was always planning to find a way to say no at first and then agree, to make it more convincing. Which brings me once more to what I hate most about Cersei, which I've said before - that she does stupid things and doesn't learn from them. Her downfall started when she armed the Faith and brought back the Faith Militant - then when her back is against the wall, she goes nuclear. Now she's inviting not one but two incredibly strong and dangerous armies into the city - the Ironborn (and not any Ironborn, but Crazy Euron's Ironborn) and the Golden Company (what happens when the money runs out, and the Iron Bank uses them against her?). I'm starting to think that when Euron tells her to sit down and shut up, or the Golden Company turns against her, she'll go nuclear again - and this time she really will blow up the city.

That works too! Seriously, every time Jaime pointed out what was wrong with them, she kept doing the 'moving the goalposts' argument, which I found super-annoying! Jaime: we can't win against her dragons and armies! Cersei: She has one less dragon. Jaime: We can't win against the Dothraki. Cersei: It doesn't matter. I mean, why? What the hell? So glad Jaime finally came to his senses, and is covering up / removing all his Lannister bling. About fricking time, Jaime!

I like this! Also, the wildlings had mammoths and lost, and in Return of the King, the bad guys had mamukil (bigass mammoth types) and lost. I wonder if the valonqar prophecy will come true in the way that Cersei will be turned into a wight and one of her brothers will have to kill her. Why I think Cersei's plan is super dumb: not only has she given power and an open invitation to Crazy Uncle Euron, she now wants to invite a mercenary army to Westeros, which will only stay loyal as long as the Iron Bank tells them to. Plus, I think that the Night King is also planning something to do with King's Landing. Remember, in the House of the Undying, the Iron Throne was covered in snow/ash. Now that the wildfire wasn't used to take out the Red Keep, it must be snow. And the Night King has his own fast transportation now.

Ok, the posting thing is messing with me, so I'll try and edit as fast as I can. Re. boatsex: they don't have to go to Outlander - how about Missandei and Grey Worm? They had 4 minutes of uninterrupted sex times, preceded by a long story which essentially meant: "I love you." There was no intercutting with his parents' marriage, no worried dwarf hovering in the corridor outside, no 'cut to: lover's mother dying in childbirth'. Absolutely agree with Sandor and Brienne - they were like a divorced couple being proud of their kid. Qyburn was practically drooling.