SourK
-
Posts
544 -
Joined
Content Type
Blogs
Gallery
Downloads
Discussion
Posts posted by SourK
-
-
On 8/4/2023 at 4:21 AM, thuganomics85 said:
What was a little more surprising is that Veronica kind of showed herself to be a crappy boss. Woman was just going all in with belittling Kevin and Clay for something out of their control and something they were in the process of trying to fix. No one likes it when the person in charge just goes into "The sky is falling!" mode and plays the blame game after the first setback. Poor form, V.
On the one hand, they said it would take five minutes to fix and that seemed normal and fair. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Kevin was just spinning an empty reel for no reason while he said it.
Either way, every movie premiere at Veronica's theatre gets interrupted somehow. She should be used to it by now.
I found the scene after a little bit weird and annoying. If we're building to a climax where the the reviewer writes a good review... why not set the scene the next day so they can read it in the paper? Why is Veronica reading it from a notebook right after the audience leaves? Did she steal the reporter's notebook? Did she copy his review by hand? Is she even a trustworthy source of information about what the review will say?
So confusing.
-
4
-
-
"Polly isn't on Broadway; she's a burlesque performer. Come to her burlesque performance where she sings a Broadway song from a show about burlesque."
Anyway.
I understand what Riverdale is, now. It's a show about having a sexual awakening related to the world of Archie comics. And that's expressed by forcing all of the characters from the comics to keep having sexual awakenings over and over again. If they move too far away from that, they get reset somehow.
The natural endpoint is exactly what we're getting now, which is this, like, bi, poly utopia where people just stare at the sunrise and accept themselves and stuff.
And I find that I weirdly don't hate it? Like, I think it's kind of juvenile, but it has this weird gentleness to it, where it's like, "Yes, my Archie fanfic is that everyone grows up to not have shame & turns out super open-minded."
Like, that's not a good fanfic but it's still kind of nice?
Am I crazy?
I didn't think I'd fold and try to start liking the show right at the end.
-
5
-
1
-
-
Ethel seems to have demonic powers that can shape reality and she murdered a tertiary character. She perfectly embodies Riverdale's ideals and shenanigans on anyone who says otherwise.
My favourite part of the pageant was that the organizers knew who's a series regular and who's a recurring guest star, because the guest stars had to walk together.
I also loved how casually everyone accepted that Cheryl could be in the pageant even though her parents sponsor it, and Betty could be there even though her parents are the hosts. If there's one thing that stays the same no matter what dimension this show is taking place in, it's a huge conflict of interest.
I also love that they created the scholarship as a way to explain why Betty would participate, and then they immediately walked it back and explained why she didn't need the scholarship so it would be okay when Ethel won.
On a more serious note, when the girls decided that the only toxic thing about beauty pageants was the swimsuit portion, I really thought about it, and I was like, "No, I still feel like a contest where people just fundamentally judge you as a person is kind of messed up." Like, can't it be an essay contest, or a talent show, or a pie-eating expo, or something where you're competing in a specific domain other than being a person?
-
3
-
-
Okay, so obviously this isn't good. It's the kind of wish-fulfillment fantasy that a lot of writers pass off as a story while they're still learning -- the difference being that, if you're not famous, it usually doesn't get shown to the world.
So, in that sense, it doesn't surprise me that The Weeknd's first attempt at long-form story-telling was this.
The main thing I'm curious about -- and please tell me if there's info about it somewhere -- is whether HBO specifically axed the first version of the show because The Weeknd complained about it, or if they reached that decision independently.
-
1
-
-
If this ends with Betty and Veronica together and Archie going off by himself to be a poet, that's better than most outcomes I imagined.
The only song I really liked was the one where Archie and Jason took off their shirts for no reason and had a weird singing contest in the shower -- and then Archie was just abruptly like, "No, this feels stupid." I thought that was very funny.
-
6
-
1
-
-
Well, for the first time, I have something in common with Archie. I also can't read a room and get way too sweaty about public speaking assignments.
Veronica, in her penthouse apartment, saying that she learned what it means to lose everything. Veronica, asking to own the penthouse. I know she also somehow owns a business, but I feel like the property taxes and maintenance fees would be terrible. And would she also pay for Smithers?
Admittedly, I didn't care or listen, but I thought they established that it wasn't illegal to sell comics -- it was just that the moms were boycotting news stands that did. So, why was there a police raid on Jughead and Ethel?
-
23 hours ago, Quark said:
This show is such a hoot.
Ethel sees someone murder her parents, is forced to join an awful hunt, kills her parents murderer and the only thing she seems to care about is writing a comic about a mailman.
Only on Riverdale.
I really like the actor who plays Ethel and I think she did a good job of selling it, but I had a chuckle at the scene where she gives a big speech about how other people keep trying to define her experience, and she just wants to tell her own story, herself.
Because, it's like, what's the experience you want to share, Ethel?
"I drew a comic where the milkman killed my parents, and then it came true and a milkman killed my parents, and everyone thought I killed my parents, and then I killed the milkman."
Okay.
2 hours ago, Affogato said:I do think they are going through all the possible pairings, but I really liked Betty and Veronica as a couple and I hope they stick.
I do, too! I'm surprised how much I'm rooting for them.
-
4
-
-
I thought this one was fun. It seems like they're trying to brand it as "red mirror" or something, so maybe they're thinking of doing more supernatural horror stuff? IDK.
The politics of it were a little weird, though, where it seemed to resolve to "it's wrong kill bad people, so I guess you just have to let the world end." Like, don't get me wrong -- I don't think you should murder people in real life but, within the fictional universe of this story, I'm not sure what it's trying to say.
-
3
-
-
This show is weirdly preoccupied with the idea that amazing technologies are going to be invented and then used to cuckhold some random guy.
On 6/16/2023 at 8:56 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:I'm surprised that David did not pretend to be Cliff to hook up with Lana, or that Cliff didn't pretend to be David-in-Cliff's Replica to explore whether Lana was lying.
David going from "Cliff doesn't deserve you" to "I'm going to murder you and your son" again seems like it was just for the plot twist. Yes, he might be upset because he's told that Lana is disgusted by him. Yes, he might want Cliff to feel the same things he felt. But I don't have to like two people being fridged for manpain.
Agree. One of my main thoughts about this setup was, "She has no way to verify who's who," and I actually kept thinking "We're going to cut back to the ship and find out David murdered Cliff," and then it never happened. But that's because I made the mistake of thinking about the story from Lana's POV and what would be the horror scenario for her. I should have remembered that that wouldn't matter, because she's just the thing these guys are fighting over.
FWIW, for most of the episode, I also found it excessive that David's whole family got murdered by a weird cult we never saw again who, like, turned themselves in the next day. I was like, "Why did they die like that??" And then it turned out the reason is, because that's the only scene horrible enough to explain why David also kills a bunch of people. But, like, why did any of them have to die? What's this story even about?
Is the moral "Don't be nice to your sad coworker because he'll kill your wife?" I don't get it.
-
9
-
-
I'm detecting a theme this season about how Netflix produces soulless, exploitative entertainment that ruins people's lives. And I'm trying to decide how I feel about watching that theme play out on Netflix. Like, what does it mean that we're in an age where a prestige show on a streaming giant is just fully about how awful the streaming giant is, and none of us are surprised by that, and it only helps the streaming giant grow stronger?
I guess network shows used to be playfully critical of networks, too.
Anyway, I thought this one was okay. It reminded me of No One Is Talking About This, in that, you know, it's all fun and games to mock human tragedy until you're the one experiencing it.
I will tell the truth and say that I had zero interest until it became about a salacious murder basement and then I sort of put down my iPad and got more into the story. So... life imitating art imitating life, etc.
-
9
-
-
I have the same gripes that have already been mentioned -- why not throw your phone away? Why not try being boring? -- Charlie Brooker always envisions a universe where no one can nope out of anything. I don't get why, but it's been like that since episode one.
Anyway, as much as I like the twist in principle, I don't think it was executed well. It doesn't make sense to me that Michael Cera was able to explain to fake!Joan that she was part of the simulation, if he was supposed to be parroting the explanation OG Joan got (in which she would have been told she was real, not part of the simulation.) Also, if the simulation is happening at a delay, why were they even able to get to the part where they destroyed the computer? Wouldn't they have all disappeared before that?
I get that that stuff's there to help the audience understand WTF's happening but I would have liked it so much more if we had been allowed to believe fake!Joan was the OG Joan up until the computer got destroyed, and then we cut to the epilogue with OG Joan and Annie Murphy and put the pieces together.
-
1
-
1
-
-
Okay, there we go. I was confused about why Veronica had a business where she didn't force her customers to watch her sing and dance, but now that's been resolved.
I have mixed feelings about how Kevin and Clay have become her full-time minions. Also: Imagine if you were a high school student and you did this performance in front of everyone.
(I did enjoy the moment where she started listing fun things to do on Halloween, and number three was kiss someone against their will and blame it on the holiday. That's so on-brand for this version of the character.)
Also I enjoyed the part where Jughead ran in randomly and told people not to drink milk.
For a minute, I was like, "Maybe Ethel framed the Milkman," but I guess she was in nun prison during the last murder.
-
7
-
-
Imagine a universe where a) people want to join your book club, b) people read the book for book club, and c) people stay on topic and talk about the book they read at book club. This show is so unrealistic.
In other news, I forgot we already knew Mr. Rayberry got killed by the Milkman, because that was stupid.
-
1
-
-
In a totally genuine way, I like this version of the core four as far as they're being characterized in this almost campy, exaggerated way. Which I guess is suited to the vibe where this is the Comics universe or whatever.
I also enjoy that Jughead was supposed to send Tabitha her homework and he spaced and didn't do it and now, somehow, they're in love. Like, that's the essence of their relationship, alright. A deadbeat across space and time.
I don't love this plot line where Toni dragged Cheryl out of the closet so they could make out and then dumped her. I also find it weird that everyone just casually outs everyone in this version of the 50s.
I also don't love that this show's idea of commentary on racism is to have the characters of colour didactically educate everyone about discrimination, and then have the "good" white characters react like, "Wow, it's so awful when other people are racist."
The moment it hit me the most was in the dinner scene with Reggie and Archie's mom, where she was like, "That's terrible" and then there was just this wide shot while they all sat there. And I was like, "Yeah, it is. But are you also curious about how we're all complicit in a culture that perpetuates these things? Like, what are you doing to change the situation?"
22 hours ago, Bill1978 said:In the original verse, it turned out that Jason and Cheryl were actually triplets and that Julian was absorbed in the womb. That's what my memory says anyway.
Was he also trapped in the haunted doll at some point, or did I imagine that?
-
6
-
-
2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:
I also think that the asshole principle makes a decent point about Jughead publishing comics that clearly feature other students in very sexual and violent situations, I would be pretty creeped out if one of my students was drawing pictures of his classmates dying in horrible ways. Of course they make it more about censorship and being pointlessly prissy about harmless stories, but that should probably raise some eyebrows.
I forgot about that, but I agree. I don't know why they threw that detail in when they're clearly trying to present the anti-comic people as wrong. It makes complete sense to be concerned if one of your students is publishing weird, violent comics about other students getting killed. Especially if the comics are like what we were shown a few episodes ago, where the tone is "They kind of deserved it for their hubris."
-
3
-
-
I'm not gonna do it, Riverdale. The pandemic taught me that I don't want to go to the theatre. I want to stream stuff at home in my pyjamas. Having Veronica say the theatre is better has not changed my mind. Also she immediately put herself in front of the camera after saying she didn't want to be in front of the camera. And the theatre guy watched the whole commercial and then was like, "Veronica, the whole time you've been working on this promo, and even after I watched it, I assumed you knew your parents were going to shut the theatre down."
They really went hard with the 50s slang in this one, and I enjoyed that, but the line I enjoyed most was, "Hey Kev, we've been in the same grade since kindergarten." I mean, I have bad social skills so maybe I don't know -- is that how you find something in common?
Finally, I felt weirdly relieved that Betty knew her parents were square.
-
4
-
-
LOL. All of the characters discovered their true, essential selves. Cheryl's gay, Veronica's a pervert, and Archie punches people in the face.
Hands-down, my favourite moment was when Archie told Betty he always goes back to his bedroom at the end of the day, and then Betty was like, "Yeah, I go to my room then, too." The delivery was so hilarious, and the conversation was so weird. It would almost be charming if it weren't so creepy to make 30-year-olds roleplay as teenage virgins.
My second favourite part was when Veronica lured Betty to her apartment to model underwear for her while she drank a mimosa, and then Betty was like, "I feel uncomfortable," and Veronica was like, "OMG, why??"
That said, the one thing I legitimately liked was the dynamic where Betty and Veronica were doing a caper together. That's one thing I miss from the comics.
-
5
-
4
-
1
-
-
I actually didn't mind 122. I think Roberto is more of a horror anthology person -- or at least his shows work better that way.
I do think it's a little bit having-your-cake-and-eating-it to tell a bunch of sexist horror stories and then have Veronica say, "Well, that's sexist." But I liked the aesthetic and the weird narrator and stuff.
-
7
-
-
22 hours ago, secnarf said:
The storylines with Cheryl and Kevin are making me kind of uncomfortable - it's uncomfortable to watch them be gay in the 1950s. But it also is difficult to watch because they cannot air a show with their main characters being homophobic in a way that would have been seen as normal at the time, and so they are far more supportive and open than I would think is realistic.
I've had similar thoughts, and I feel conflicted about it. I think the show is trying to make Archie and Betty role models, and show what good people should/would do in all of these situations, as if their goodness is so strong that it transcends whatever culture they find themselves in. And that would be a touching idea, if they had been remotely good in the previous seasons instead of a couple of violent, self-involved weirdos. Like, imagine if they had been characterized consistently as pillars of the community, and we were just seeing what that looked like in lots of different settings. That would be a cool show.
But, on this show, I feel like sending the action to the 50s was an aesthetic choice and the social/cultural stuff coming up is mostly an obstacle the show is trying to navigate rather than something it wants to engage with.
But also, as you've said, I don't think Riverdale is really equipped to explore sensitive, nuanced issues, so maybe it's better they don't try.
-
1
-
-
TBH, I liked it when Jughead and Veronica were awkward around each other and couldn't hang out alone. I thought that was both funny and realistic, but I would have been fine watching them become friends this season. I agree that the romance feels like the writers are just hooking up whoever's left over.
On that note, I kind of hoped for a second that Betty and Toni would get together, since I'm tired of Cheryl and Toni's relationship, but it doesn't look like that's the way it's going.
On a completely different note -- maybe the comic books are coming true again in this universe? Ooo -- and maybe Ethel has the power to shape reality.
-
5
-
-
Just go through US, UK and AU, in that order. I liked AU the best overall, because people seemed to want to play and the strategy was more interesting. I liked Claudia the best as host.
On 2/22/2023 at 1:40 PM, Door County Cherry said:One thing is true of all three series I saw--people forget the traitors usually don't have a choice whether or not to become a traitor. They got too worked up about who could do it.
This was really striking to me, too. In every single one of these, people got super hung up on the idea that the Traitors had to be bad. It actually makes me think that, as the game evolves, it might be better if people get used to the idea that they can change teams part way through the season.
I read about one season of, I think, the Dutch version? Not sure. But one season of one of the earlier iterations of this show where one of the Traitors got mad and revealed who the other Traitors were after they got voted out (which I'm surprised doesn't happen more often, honestly). Production decided to reset the game and pick new Traitors at that point -- and I honestly think that might be the healthiest thing. People get way too entrenched in the idea that being Faithful or Traitor shows something about your character.
There's also just a weird dynamic on this show where playing Traitor means you're almost obliged to be sorry if you win and happy if you lose as if you have done something wrong. And that's not how it feels when you play Werewolf or Mafia or something -- and I wonder if it's because the game is so long and that makes it feel like more of a personal betrayal?
-
3
-
-
This was the last one I watched, but I think I liked it best. People made friends and got emotional, but it mostly seemed like they showed up to play and understood it was a game.
I did feel bad for Craig, though -- those last few minutes in between when we all knew he had lost and when Alex told him she was a Traitor were so brutal I almost couldn't stand it. (Although LOL at how the Faithful tried to vote each other out right up to the finals.)
I also felt bad for Nigel for different reasons. As soon as he introduced himself at the beginning and said, "I was a hostage for a super long time and discovered that I know how to appease people who mean me harm, so now I've made that my identity" (paraphrase) I felt very nervous for him. I get that he wrote a book and he speaks about the experience and can make his own decisions about whether he wants to play a game like this, but I was still like, "Dude, maybe you shouldn't?" I was actually relieved when he got picked to be a Traitor.
I also loved how some random guy named Paul suddenly appeared for a couple of episodes near the end and then got murdered.
This one was fun, but -- again -- the last few minutes left me with that feeling like, "I'm not sure it's awesome that we do this to people for entertainment." I would have liked to see a reunion episode where we found out if everybody was okay.
-
7
-
-
Caught up to episode three. I don't love the 50s stuff, honestly -- I think this show was at its best when it was a sci-fi show about jumping between universes, but whatever.
I'm excited for everyone to have a career playing different roles after this! Most of the cast members seem cool in interviews. They're starting production companies and stuff. I hope it works out and this just becomes an anecdote about that time they got signed to a weird show and their weird boss kept making them do stupid stuff.
Speaking of stupid stuff. I felt like this season was oddly tame... and then there was a grisly murder and a dream sequence where everyone had to make out in their underwear, so, good to know it's still the same Riverdale.
Shannon Purser is too good for this show, but it's nice to see her again. I also like Toni's 1950s hair. It's the kind of style that makes me say, "Wow, should I get bangs?" -- and the answer is always no, but the question is titillating.
-
2
-
-
I watched this on advice from people in the US threads. I do wish it weren't so similar to the US version, but I thought this one had better editing and -- importantly, at least to me -- better explanations of what the rules are. Like, I'm the kind of viewer who wants to hear someone say, "There's a safe word if you don't want to be buried alive."
I also really, really liked Claudia and how excited she got, and how she was openly cheering for them and screaming and jumping up and down.
Didn't like Wil as much, because I don't like it when people shank their own team for no reason. I honestly couldn't tell if he knew what he was doing or not, but it got to be funny that every couple of episodes, he'd say, "I was going to stay loyal to the traitors, but I think they're plotting against me, so I need to get them out." It bummed me out when he went after Amanda, because I really liked her, but it was also partly her fault for choosing him over Alyssa.
On 2/21/2023 at 12:29 AM, ZeeEnnui said:One moment that really rubbed me the wrong way, was the early episode when Aaron had a panic attack at the banishment ceremony. Sure, to some it seemed dramatic, but it struck me that Aaron seemed like he might suffer from anxiety and the voting was too much for him. I really disliked how nasty John was to him later. John seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about the past.
I agree. That was the moment I really disliked John. I was honestly just as surprised by it as Aaron -- I was like, "Wait, you're mad because he took an interest and asked you questions about your job?" I think John just likes to pick a fight.
Oh, and then John started crying at breakfast, so who's dramatic now?
On 2/27/2023 at 8:05 AM, snarts said:I can't help but feel like the game is slanted too much in favor of the Traitors. I don't like that they can recruit additional Traitors and I really didn't like they could (in essence) draft one so late in the game. Completely unfair to Kieran and I understood his frustration, especially since Wilf was such a snake. The Faithful should really thank him, they were doomed otherwise.
I find it awkward when they recruit Traitors late, but I understand the problem production's trying to solve. They've already made all of the arrangements to shoot a certain number of episodes, and it wouldn't really work if all of the Traitors were gone before the end, because then there's no suspense for the audience.
I found it interesting when they pressured Kieran to join. I guess the choice you always have on a reality show is to either roll with the punches or quit the show but they sort of dressed it up as if it were a more special decision. I don't have a problem with that per se -- lots of shows shuffle teams at some point -- but it does create a situation where someone's jumping in pretty late, and on both UK and US it didn't work very well.
On 2/28/2023 at 11:04 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:The constant tears were a bit much but I will admit to laughing HARD when what's his name found out that his dream girl was taken. Like I laughed OUT LOUD for a long time. It was such a ridiculous display
I thought that was really funny, too. I'm sorry to Matt (I think that's who it was) -- it was funny not just because he started crying but because EVERYBODY kept crying, and then it was just like, "Oh, now him, too. Him, too."
Plus, I love Maddy and how, whenever something emotionally intense was happening, she would just guilelessly say it out loud and then everyone would get mad at her. I loved it when she was like, "Meryl, you just said you knew all along, but you voted for [whoever it was]." And I loved it in this scene, when she tried to tell Matt she was sorry Alex had a boyfriend, and he was just like, "That's not why! That's not why!"
I do kind of wonder, though, if they purposely cast people who were kind of prone to bursting into tears or if this became a group dynamic where everyone was constantly covering their faces and sobbing about everything and, if you didn't do it too, you wouldn't fit in.
-
4
-
1
-
Going Out With a Whimper: Season 7 Discussion
in Riverdale
I get that it's black and white because TV and movies were black and white in the 50s. What I don't get is why this episode, specifically, as opposed to any other episode, was black and white, or what that changed about how someone would interpret it. I also don't get why only one episode was black and white instead of the whole season.
If they were only going to do one episode this way, why not the one where Veronica was actually showing B-movies at her theatre? Or why not a scary episode?
I was more into the Betty/Veronica story line, or the story line where Veronica's a horndog and no one wants to date her (which I liked because that's not a dynamic you usually see for female characters).