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I didn't mean to say that Julia's TV story line is bad. I just said that for me, personally, the TV show took everything I was interested in and replaced it with stuff I really couldn't be more indifferent about. See, I am not even a fan of the book series as a whole. I didn't care much for book 1, not beyond a decent enough, forgettable genre book, and was only interested in Asmo in book 3 (I thought it obvious it was her from almost the very start). But book 2 is just special to me, the kind of book I recommend to people that know me in lieu of explaining stuff to them, especially now that I am once again losing my ability to communicate. It's a "Read this. It's like that." There are entire passages that I could point to instead of trying to use my own words, which is increasingly harder to do. I don't often find media representations that give me this feeling or serve this function. When I got to Pouncy's reveal as to why he was trying to reach OLU, for a moment I couldn't breathe. The Magicians series would have been worth reading even for that one moment. It reminded me of what kept me alive while having constant suicidal ideation, which is precious, because soon I will have to rely on the memory of it. Maybe some viewers will have the same reaction to Julia's TV story line, but I think, maybe selfishly, that there are way more narratives of addiction out there. Regardless of how it was handled, and how annoying some found it, it's just that the addiction shtick is not that rare on TV or movies. I suppose depression isn't either, but this particular depiction hit the right notes for me. I know I should feel lucky that the book exists, and I do, I just wish the show went there.

Right? I understand changes due to the different format and/or the limited number of episodes, but Julia's side of the story is completely different, with events and names from the books just thrown in. I wanted to rant about it at certain points, but I was too disappointed to spend more time thinking about the show. It was the changes with Pouncy, Failstaff and the reason for attempting to summon a god that made me walk away. Not only were my favorite moments in the books removed, but they were replaced with boring stuff and this time traveling(?) that makes no sense at all. I don't get it. Were Free Trader Beowulf too intellectual and elitist for mainstream audiences? Did the show runners think viewers wouldn't understand what they were doing? Wouldn't empathize? Well then, good thing there's always drug addiction, dead babies, mother issues, and cancer to bring a story to the fold. I wasted how many hours on this?

I dropped the show over the changes to Julia's story line, which was the one thing I liked in the series, so I'll just ask here: are they still doing some version of Murs? (ETA: It's an ongoing question. I am asking about episode 11 and whatever comes next. My last ep was 10, for... obvious reasons. If anyone takes the time to keep me posted, thank you.)

^ Very good points about Kady. Nothing about it made sense or even had any real point - unless she comes back later and all this is somehow significant. You are right about the stars: they are just signifiers of power. I don't see why Julia couldn't get new stars on her other arm and never show these old ones. The location for the stars is not a standard and it's not like she has to strip in front of other magicians. The problem was that she didn't track down anyone else in another city to get away from Marina's influence. No. Btw, the whole thing was changed, i.e. even the geese part played out differently. I thought the TV show was much lighter, and their stay was more like a class than a forced retreat, so intensive as to be mind-breaking/reshaping. Also, it happened way, way earlier, so imo some of the significance of it was blunted by this. I actually think it was meant to play a different function on the show. I was still disappointed.

I thought Spotlight was quite tame in terms of provoking an emotional reaction, actually. And I'm not saying this as a criticism of the movie itself, since its scope was the Spotlight team and their investigation. If you really want to get your blood boiling, I think Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God does it; not via the personal confessions, though those were effective, but by how clear it made the fact that those who tried to do something were ignored or silenced by an institution so twisted and perverted that not even a higher position in the hierarchy meant anything.

I'm done with the show, but saw this on tumblr - twin. It made me laugh so hard. The show is so off the rails with the rehashing. (I'm still reading Heather Hogan's recaps for the lulz.)

^ She was also on this week's episode of iZombie. She is awesome, isn't she? You mean the Physical Kids? Doubtful. Quentin was housed there only because there are so few of them. If all those were in his house, there would be even more in other houses, and we'd see way more students on campus and in class. As every week, this episode was the most boring yet. The Trials were lame head games, the Hanna-as-Kady's-mother reveal very obvious (if only Kady had mentioned her parents before instead of juuuuust when we found out Hanna had someone she could contact... *sigh*), the secret reveals were just bare bones and boring, obvious, just crossing the t's, and why was Quentin's paint black when Alice, Penny and Kady all had white paint? After her meltdown and Hanna's portrayal, Julia is officially an addict in an analogy so obvious it could be used as a PSA video, but she is still the reason I keep watching. If only someone uploaded her scenes to youtube, I could watch that and quit the show. I do like Margo and Elliot, but they don't get enough screen time to make Brakebills fun, and I want to like Alice, but the actress is just... there.

Kady: "Is that why you're hanging out with the angriest bitch from the safe house?" Julia, awesomely deadpan: "Oh, if you want to insult me, try again."

^ It does seem that way, except for the part where nothing we see resembles Julia's back story in The Magician King, so I wonder if her story will end up at the same place at the books. Maybe there is no such encounter, or maybe it's the result of a spell she randomly finds (that would be lame though...) Btw, I saw an interview with Stella Maeve and she mentioned having fun recently filming a scene where she flies, which sounds like that very last scene of book 1, so that's in season 2. Since Julia is already a co-lead, the show can run her story up until that moment, instead of Ember's Tomb - not that there would be more than an episode or 2 between those, with the pacing the show has at the moment.

There are zero spoilers in this, just world building the show skipped (at least at the moment), but putting the tag as per the thread policy. The Marina group itself is show-only and Julia's arc is very different. Hanna could in fact be a version of a book character, but only if the show decided to change Julia's story, not just add a new chapter at this time. Since Julia's backstory was in book 2, all Julia season 1 stuff could be added to introduce her as a main character earlier, and then season 2 covers book 2, and all characters she meets now are show-only. There is no way to know until the end of this season or unless the show runners talk in an interview about show!Julia (which maybe they did, because I'm not up to date with this).

‏Jason Rothenberg tweeted the 12 clans and their symbols, as seen during the Summit. bluedevilblue, I not only agree with you about Clarke/Bellamy, but also think this would be even iffier now that there is Kane/Abby. Then again, I see Clarke/Bellamy as just a fandom couple at this point. There was no romance on the show between them, their connection is friendship, partnership; the show even avoided the classic "oh, one of them is jealous!" bits other show runners throw to fans to keep them talking. And, for all their connection, they've spent more time apart than not since Clarke started becoming Wanheda, and it was by her choice - she sent him to Mount Weather, she left the camp, and she stayed in Polis. Even without the recent events (ugh), the Clarke/Bellamy way would be for Clarke to revert to her Skykru-only days, which is not what I want to watch. I find the Grounders interesting, and she is the character that allows the show to develop their world in ways Octavia and Lincoln don't. Kane being the Ambassador would have been different too - more diplomacy, less access, less or different information (and for sure no night-time meetings in his bedroom; that was hilarious).

IMO Grimm's failed approach to story arcs is the exact opposite of, say, Person of Interest (though I understand someone might object to the change itself): whereas in shows like PoI everything comes together for the story, and they don't just thin out the procedural aspect, but are actually less of a procedural in retrospect too (so many CotW and seemingly minor events/flashbacks are revealed to have been the story all along), Grimm always had some story arc going, but it was always completely unrelated to the CotW, and then, crucially, it went nowhere. ALL these previous stories were either dropped (keys), solved in an unsatisfactory manner just to get them over with (Royals), reversed in an unsatisfactory manner just to return the character to the fray (pretty much everything Juliette), or treated as they never happened (zombie Nick, pretty much everything Adalind), or a hellish combination thereof (Ripper Renard fits all bills and is possibly the single most obviously pointless so far). Which is to say that in Grimm the story arcs never actually mattered, and nothing of importance would have been lost from giving up the attempt because the show runners never had a plan to get anywhere. This is not a failure of "go all crazy with arc themes". What all fails in Grimm's story telling seem to indicate is that there actually was no arc, just a series of ideas to write about for the moment. The same goes for characterization: people acting and interacting as the plot required it, with just the occasional continuity, and a reset or a twist always at hand. The expanding cast was a misstep at every turn; you can't do character dynamics like BtvS or even Angel without a strong sense of who the people are, good writing to back it up, and a sense that the shared history shapes current interactions. Grimm is the very opposite of all this, so it was set up for failure. If only the show runners had the guts to admit not just that they can't properly execute story arcs, but that they can't really come up with them to begin with. They could hire an entire squad of new writers who can keep track of continuity and it would not matter one bit when there is no destination. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Grimm should have just gone full procedural with a constant - both in numbers and in characterization - cast. Why the show runners still think they could do better, I can barely imagine. I lol-ed. Yes, when the show runners feel the need to go with such a development - any development, really - , they should just have an "It was just a dream!" episode and get it out of everyone's system with minimum impact on the show.

True, I expected they'd spend more than 1 season pre-Fillory, as we are also getting part of book 2 with Julia's story. Also, the Dean and Kady are in season 2, which indicates Brakebills scenes. Then again, I'm not eager for the show to go to Fillory, tbh, because that means either a much larger budget for special effects and location filming, or dodgy CGI, or changes to Fillory itself (like have its denizens be humans, I think would save the most on effects without a non-book reader even knowing it). Also, if the audience gives up on the show at that point, that could actually be the end of it. And, speaking of shocks, I'd venture that the most surprised would be the casuals viewers who don't even know to expect the fantasy adventure genre switch. How many seasons would happen in Fillory in total I'd assume would depend on how popular it would be vs how expensive. Or maybe I am being too cynical right now. I thought it's 13 episodes though. And I think there might be new major players revealed as the show gets picked up for more seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if the show runners are only focusing on the first 2 books right now; after all, they don't yet have enough time to cover everything unless they get renewed for season 3. For example, they could have Quentin meet someone other than Emily during his in-between Fillory slump. Another thing. I wonder how the Quentin / Julia stories will synch in terms of Fillory: will this current structure continue while they are in Fillory for the first time, or will those episodes be focused only on Fillory, to pick up Julia's story as Quentin returns? It would be easier for new viewers to tune in for the Fillory setting if there is no extra story line that requires previous watching. ETA: Right now episode 11 is the last one with a revealed title and it's "Remedial Battle Magic", so we know where they are at that point. So it still seems quite probable to me that season 1 ends before the end of book 1. That would be a lot to cover in just 2 episodes.

^ W.T.F. Far better or more popular shows didn't get a game, and Grimm does? Well, I guess I'm applying for beta now.