fantique

This came to me while writing in the relationship thread. The writers are too far up Ichabod's arse to notice but I at least hope some critics not only realise that Abbie is being used as a prop and that it's not ok and actually doesn't bring anything to the show but communicate that to the writers. Her being her own person would make the show twice as good because there would be twice as much to care about. And if this is about Crane wanting to respect her boundaries, how about Jenny? Jenny is not afraid to corner Abbie and get her to fess up. And everyone loves Jenny too. I just see zero disadvantage in that set up, whereas the present one at least makes Abbie fans like myself disgruntled and lowers the quality of the show because one of its leads is not given a proper point of view. People are speaking for her or talking over her a lot this season. Her fear and anxiety is explained by Pandora, her ambition and desire to be an agent by Reynolds. Heck, most of the father stuff was more about Abbie thinking about Jenny's reaction than anything else. It's in character and is beautiful but yet another thing that when you analyse, you realise that her feelings are secondary. She doesn't visit her father because she doesn't want to hurt his family and Jenny endorses it. Not because she is satisfied with things as they are. At the very least, even if the writers don't want or know how to have her express her feelings through her own mouth, her interacting with different people would at least diversify the faces we are shown of her.

First of all guys... I think you're thinking too hard about the timeline, they are simply retconning stuff. They're not actually making it out to be during Katrina time. They just don't care enough to place it in the correct spot or can't because the pre-established canon made Katrina ad Abraham the sole reasons why Ichabod was even in America and turned cloak. They're playing or writing it that way so I think we just have to handwave the timeline. I had this paranoid thought while ranting on the episode thread. I think they are trying to not give Abbie/Nicole any scene partners that can threaten the Ichabbie chemistry. At first, I thought that they just simply don't care about Abbie and her emotional journey. But then why bring in her father, Reynolds and have Pandora clearly targeting her more and enjoying torturing her more. I think that they are leading up to a wedge between the team and her turning maybe bad for a bit or making a choice that has the worst consequences. And I think that everything that represents temptation away from Witness duties has been set up. BUT, they need to present being a witness as what is better and they need Ichabod not just to be right but the reason why she is coming back to the good side. If her interactions with him are not the strongest, then it doesn't make sense for her to be brought back. And because it's this show, I know they are going to have Ichabod bring her back, not Jenny. I am probably wrong and it's just that they don't see anything wrong with all their conversations being Ichabod ranting, Abbie babying him or being his cheerleader. Clearly, I am in the smallest of minorities for seeing it that way. It just came to me because I find it super weird how little time she's had with other people this season. This will never not be funny to me. *snort* Hmm... I don't know but just like the conversation about the imbalance of the relationship, it seems what I am hearing comes down to "that's just the way it's got to be because of who they are and Abbie is a closed off person who won't let others help". And I'm sorry but for me, who they are is a hurt friend and a shitty one. I can not be convinced otherwise. Because, despite her closed off nature, she allowed herself to trust him and be genuinely open in season one. She closed off after he repeatedly fucked up for a year+. She trusted Corbin and Irving, trusts Jenny and Joe. The onus is on Ichabod to think that there are probably still problems and hurt feelings. It is on him to try to do things, more than once, to make up for the fact that he fucked up without making it a big deal. People act like he should wait for Abbie to work out all her hang ups and then make a sign to signify that she's ready to not keep him at arms' length. That is not how a relationship between two mature adults who genuinely care for each other works. What you're saying is that to fix their friendship, basically Abbie has to get her shit together and trust him fully again, with no incentive or sign that's he's changed. No because Abbie, should be the one to work to keep the peace, Ichabod doesn't have to do anything. One other thing, there is a reason why I bring up characterisation over time. You bring up him being intuitive with the Jenny situation, yeah... That was in the first half of the first season before the fight was made really personal for him. As soon as that happened, I am hard pressed to find a time where he was as attentive. Last season obviously continued that trend and this season's writers have had five episodes. From what I have seen so far of this season, the only time when Crane has addressed that there needs to be effort on his part. I know, I am being harsh because Ichabood probably helps around the house. But I don't really care about that. I care about the thoughts behind the help. I like that he recognised that she is giving up her privacy. But why can't he figure out that their friendship feels weird. 2/3 of the times when he rants now, she literally isn't even looking at him anymore. She just mumbles and makes sarcastic remarks. He goes on about how they have similar experiences but doesn't find it odd that she just doesn't respond? Or how it doesn't seem like she ever talks about herself or her day or her job with him? Sure it could be happening in offscreen land, but there is no precedent that allows me to make that leap and the character of Ichabod hasn't given me the impression that he would ask or wouldn't talk about it onscreen if they did. My friends certainly would have asked me what's wrong a long time ago if every time they talked to me I basically on autopilot. Just because she's a private person doesn't mean he can't ask her what's wrong or if she's ok. If they showed him asking multiple times and failing, I would be ok with that because he tried. He hasn't tried. I don't care about what he did two years ago, he hasn't tried in recent history except for when the plot demanded it. It certainly doesn't help my perception that people feel the rift and put it all on Abbie/Nicole. Oh, she felt cold this episode, oh Abbie should open up. Why? What reason has he given that he will listen and take care not to upset her if it is ever a choice between his interests and hers? I don't care how funny his rants are, I don't see why people want her to show that much enthusiasm for something she hears every day.

I don't understand this expression...

Of course he doesn't, and it wasn't my point. He is idolising a time when justice was only for people like him. I am sorry but when you hold up the moral and ideals of an era, you can't just act like it was all good and not address the parts that sucked. Even after she pointedly told him that his good old times were when only men like him had rights, he still waxes poetics about it. And he doesn't even make intellectual burns that often. Most of his rants are either about historiccal inaccuracy, exploitative greed or moral decay. The last one is what I have the most problem with. It's the same as the morons talking about how great America was in the 50s-60s when the only people who had real rights were white guys. What they're saying is stupid. And my point wasn't even that he shouldn't rant, just that I don't need it that often. This show doesn't go deep on societal topics, which means that the subjects of rants will mostly be about how stupid, shallow and vain people have become (I agree more on the stupid part) so it gets old because he is complaining about the same thing 2 years in. I am just saying, I don't find that interesting. As for minding his own business, when it comes to her dad he didn't. Anyhow, my preference would be to have her talk about this with Jenny so... And even without the subject of Reynolds being breached, how about asking how she's holding up with her FBI duties? I mean sure, I could assume he does but like I said the last time handwavium was brought up wrt Ichabod expressing concern about her life, I need dots before forming a line. If he doesn't show concern usually I have no reason to believe he does for this particular instance. Plot handwavium is fine-ish, character handwavium? Bad writing. Not asking about her fling with Reynolds? Definitely observing the boundaries laid out. Asking about Abbie herself on anything unrelated to their common cause only once in a blue moon? Self involvement or at least disinterest in her. Unless you are used to your friends never asking you how you are doing? The porch scene was good because he thought she needed to unburden herself and I appreciated how it demonstrated a knowledge of how she works and the need for him to open up first. But then does that mean she needs to be attacked by a demon for him to be worried? If not self-involvement, it's very much taking her for granted. Which is alarming considering the kind of work they do. The pattern is, he asks when it's a plot point and is an indication to the audience "hey...will totally come back to this, pay attention". When a character does something rarely and it's always for plot, I do not consider it part of their characterisation. I.e.: I don't consider Crane to be attentive since he only is when the plot demands it. At the end of the day, I don't really care where it comes from, I just want Abbie to have more scenes that are focused on her with someone who is not a villain. That Pandora is more aware of Abbie's struggles and unease than her roommate says a lot I would think. And I'm sorry but Crane has been self involved and manpaining since he found out Headless was Abe. This is nothing new here. It's just that season 1 had a good enough plot to keep me occupied and season 2 had three people who were even more self involved than him and therefore got the brunt of my irritation. Not saying his situation wasn't bad, but when someone is talking about how bad they have it more than anything, I just can't care. My brain switches off, self pity, especially in fiction, is the quickest way for me to dismiss them Independently of how I feel it affects Abbie and her narrative, the rants are more miss than hit for me because he talks a lot about how it was better and then they have a funny scene about how he loves it here for x reason (usually something frivolous). I can't take that seriously, especially when the material is always the same. And how many times does the point of people being less desirous of proper education need to be made? Every episode? Congratulations, I could have told you that and I was born in 1993. As for Nikki Reed, come on...I don't think she genuinely believes there is anything remotely educational about the show. She is just BS-ing because everyone is dismissive of her character. I know little to nothing about American history and I still assumed most things are made up with a little reality sprinkled in because of, you know, the twistory label for the show. I have talked at length about my disgust and dismay at the idea that TV should teach anything other than pushing to change perspectives once in a while or making you want to learn more about an unknown supplementary subject. At least for people older than 12. I completely agree that if someone's problem is that this program is teaching them the wrong thing, well that's the least of their problems really. Listen, I don't expect anyone to agree with me or interpret the scenes/characters the same way. That's just how I digest stories. The more a narration beats me over the head with something, the more irritated and dismissive I get. Which is why I am also getting annoyed with the lack of progress with the Pandora plot and motivations. Yes, she collects fears, is delightfully evil, and she womansplains to Abbie. But without progress all I can say is she's bitter and throwing a tantrum over millennia old grudge. That's just how I feel about it. I also feel that if Abbie continues to be mute about her own feelings and seemingly always cornered into non committal, ambivalent answers, then I will be forced to draw the conclusion that she doesn't really have a conflict. She doesn't care which path, she just finds it easier to conform to whatever her interlocutor expects of her. Bestie cheerleader/nanny/confidante for Ichabod and workaholic for Danny. Pandora tells me she has fears, the camera shows me her furrowed brows but she just passively flips and flops between environments not telling me which she likes and feels better in. I am losing sense of who the character is and what she wants outside of her self identification as an agent and a witness. I don't feel like she is fighting for anything. And whatever scenes that are not just about the case she shares with a character that's never going to ask those questions...So I resent the association. Now if she is with Jenny and pulls the same shit, then that's her character and it sucks. Oh ok. I guess I was more coming from the angle that Abbie didn't really care about Katrina so her feelings are "bitch was crazy, glad she's dead. Moving on." I just feel like she thinks of Katrina like she does of Moloch, Headless and Henry. I just don't think she was important enough to warrant anger as opposed to irritation. And if she's talking to Crane about Katrina, other than how he feels about her loss, what would they be talking about? What would even bring about her anger? Unless we get to a repeat of that situation, in which case I would rather have the discontent directed at the person who for some reason thought his useless wife had a say in the mission, especially with her trustworthiness and good judgement diminishing by the second. I love you for this post. Much needed laugh

Yeah, especially after Bonnie's mum was turned. Caroline was there for Bonnie and defending her even against Elena trying to barge in when she was just not in the mood to see her. I always saw their relationship this way. I really wish this show realised that they can stop writing romance as the central plot. Elena's departure was supposed to facilitate that.

Not really, forbidden work romances are a thing on TV all the time and Abbies breaks rules when she can justify them to herself. And if the pressure boils up to a high enough point, I would not find it unbelievable for her to crumble, confide in him and they get closer that way. It doesn't have to even be back to full blown relationship but just seeing someone she was involved with close to her again would be an interesting point of view and a new beat. I don't really give a shit that it's used for comic relief, they are having Abbie being invested earnestly, not as a joke, in them while she has nothing going on emotionally. I was ok ignoring them even though I thought it took time away from scenes I would rather see, and know were cut. I will put it more bluntly, if Ichabod gets to move on and get out there in the world with Abbie cheering him on and enquiring about his dates, I want someone to be Abbie's interlocutor to discuss how she really feels about Reynolds being back. We've had ambivalent, non-committal in Reynolds' (and Crane's) presence which makes sense. But Jenny who lloves to tease her sister and clearly was side-eyeing them when they met that morning. Why haven't we had a scene with Jenny asking Abbie about it like we have scenes with the others always asking Ichabod about Zoe? And the comic relief thing doesn't even make sense as an excuse because I don't see a rule book that romantic beats for both characters have to be the same. His can be light and funny while hers is more emotionally grounding for the character. As for OOC-ness, that's why the ex who becomes the boss set up works because we on't have to see the dates, and the flirting or whatever. They quickly established that they had enough of connection that he is comfortable, open with her and knows a lot about her life in Sleepy Hollow which means she trusted him. We don't need to see them on dates, we can see them having moments where they discuss their career and he is supportive ad that old familiarity sinks back into their rapport so I don't get that argument either. I going to be blunt and say what I want in not so nice terms (wrt Ichabod): I want her to have more scenes away from him, his D-grade drama and his self-involvement. I want Abbie to spend time with someone who cares and enquires sincerely about her feelings instead of giving up at the first sign that she is reluctant, like that's a new thing. Season 1 Ichabod prodded until the issue was addressed, this one is like "oh OK, you're done then. Let me talk about my stalker or guilt over everything that ever happened during the Revolution that ultimately amounts to nothing. Oooh, shall I rant about the superiority of a time period during which i could have owned you?!". I want either real scenes with Reynolds where they don't have that weird blocking when the subject gets personal or have her at least vocalise her feelings about the situation to Jenny just like Crane does to her. What is hard about that? Why do people make it sound like a herculean task when at least 3 minutes of the damn episode were spent counselling Crane on his love life without the LI present. Which shows that her feelings about it can even be addressed without showing Danny/Abbie scenes. Even if she no longer is into him, surely it's confusing enough of a situation to warrant a conversation? Why can't the writers write overarching emotional beats for Abbie? Crane has them, Jenny has them, heck Joe has them. Why not Abbie? The problem is that Abbie is only allowed to talk to random day players, to Jenny but only about case stuff outside of their father drama for some reason, be in a group where the conversation inevitably becomes about Ichabod and Ichabod himself who isn't about to actually enquire about her emotional state. Yes, Nicole is great at conveying emotions just with her face but she also has a mouth that can be used too form words and convey feelings as well, on top of having great scene chemistry with anyone. She even made KW step up! I don't know why I am so worked up but I guess to me this episode exemplified everything they're doing that pisses me off like last week's exemplified everything they're doing that I love. And having Abbie getting involved in his love life aside from just teasing him is just over the line for me. Especially because it totally makes her a hypocrite about the boundaries thing and it seems OOC to me.

I interpreted the same as you for the last two paragraphs. My issue is that I don't always feel connected to Abbie and her alone portions of the episodes. In the première, I had more fun watching her being in the FBI than the rest and was really sad for her when she had to be brought back into the mission. But since they are no longer showing her actually working on cases, instead she is creating "cases", I don't see her happy as an FBI agent as much except when she is having those weird scenes with Reynolds that are good on their own but feel weird in the narrative because we don't know where they're going with them. If the conflict is that she is giving up the life she wants as a FBI agent, then I have to see that that life is something she is happy in. As for Nicole, what I always liked is that whatever take, whatever angle, she popped and you could always see her being Abbie, and thinking about what's happening around her. This season, she just pops less and doesn't grab my eye as much when it's not "her shot". Since the scenes where the focus on her are still good and make me feel connected to her, I know that she hasn't magically lost her appeal to me so I can only believe it's because she is not 100% in. It might not have anything to do with the show, but I am still feeling what I am feeling. The thing is, if the show had even an equal amount of scenes where she is the focus as when she is an accessory to the narrative, I would be ok. But, there are more moments that are either about the case or about Ichabod's emotional whatever of the week. And because I have loved those scenes where Pandora clearly targets Abbie and interacts with her, where I can feel her fear and her desperation and her wanting to be in denial, it makes it more obvious in scenes where she is more passive. The only plotline that is just about Abbie, is the FBI stuff...which we see 45 seconds of every episode. The way they made it, instead of her relationship with Reynolds being about her wanting that life, it seems that she is placating him so he will give her leeway to investigate the weird ones. They need to fix this shit. What could be a good way is that she tells him the truth and relies on him more and more which makes her rely less on the team. They can get closer, get back together and have him tempt her with the FBI,tell her that she shouldn't have this burden and that she is doing more good "in the real world", which would tie back to her saying that not all evil is supernatural like in the first episode. You know, the one that showed her so at ease as FBI that I wanted to just watch a show about Abbie, FBI agent. But that's unlikely at this point.

I don't know... I liked that Abbie was plenty negative about Katrina's abilities/trustworthiness while she was around. I don't need it rehashed like it's some petty competition reminding us how much she sucked. Katrina didn't betray Abbie because there was nothing to betray, Abbie didn't trust her or like her or care about her as a person. Abbie didn't trust her, wasn't surprised when she went dark and didn't shed tears when her dust went straight to the seventh circle of hell. She got in the way of Abbie carrying out her mission and was endangering her, her loved ones and the town at large. I like that it was all business, and don't want it made personal. The way I saw it, Katrina was either an asset or a liability to Abbie, her being Crane's wife was a non-sequitur. Either she worked for the team or not. I think Abbie shows plenty of disdain when she always prefaces with "whatever she was/ended up being" when telling Crane she understand his feelings. That's not her speaking kindly of Katrina, it's more sympathising for Crane's sense of loss. She understands that he still has good memories of his wife to mourn. I cannot agree more with the bolded. I really don't know what the fuck they are doing with Reynolds and why it's so hard for them to get her a decent LI if they must have the witnesses in relationships.

Yeah, I thought so too. I think they realised nobody is into her so I think they will slowly fade her out of the show. They signed her for the whole season so they have to keep her on but they can use her sparsely. Serves them right for adding a completely unnecessary character for no discernible reason. Whatever, as long as they make it possible for me to ignore her existence, I am good. I though so too. Bitterly laugh at the unintended pun about the depressing lack of depth of the show. And I hope next week advances the season arc...it's getting tiresome. And since they are doing a 9/9 split, there are only four episodes left in the first half of the season. 1. I was sooo pissed that he got killed. He was my favourite too... 2. That was adorable. That would certainly help me digest this screen time eating SL, because right now I am wondering why I am supposed to give a flying fuck about Crane's dating life. Shouldn't the citizenship be a way to show him moving on? Can't they have hearings and meetings that make him think about the past and declare he is free of its pains and still carries the rewards from it? And why have they not addressed his citizenship since epsiode 3? So annoying. The problem is that the writers don't see anything wrong with Crane's characterisation or development so it is unlikely they will fix what might bother some of us.

First of all, I love Bonnie and hate Damon. He is only bearable when he is sincerely being Bonnie's friend. Otherwise, he is a stinking pile of whiny man-child shit that blames his mistakes on every Tom, Dick and Suzie. He especially disgusts me because he clearly will put whatever vagina he is chasing before his brother any day when Stefan clearly always puts him first. Yet, he gets o whine about how Stefan wronged him and everyone prefers him. I'm always thinking in response "well maybe that's because he doesn't sweat desperation and co-dependent stalker behaviour, Damon. You should try buying some self-esteem first." But this is neither here nor there. I understand the impulse but the fact that she was such a great character at first made me resent the fact that they turned her into a self-indulgent idiot who can't deal with anything. The show justified every stupid behaviour to not upset Elena as if she is a ten year old child who can't cope. It was like since they couldn't use her actual safety as the focal concern anymore (because vampire), they switched to her potentially crying as the priority of everyone. Which makes her unstable and weak because the breakneck speed of the plot demands reasons for the groups' actions more often. The other problem is that the writers are so enamoured with the waste of space that is the Damon character that they didn't want to change him. Therefore, instead of maturing him and giving him some kind of progress, they made Elena "go down to his level" to justify them getting together because we all know Elena in seasons 1-3 would not stand for Damon going on murder rampages because his feelings got hurt. They had to make her fuck up enough that she couldn't reject him on moral a basis without being a hypocrite. Someone mentioned the Elena/Bonnie friendship and I remember the day I thought I didn't consider as friends anymore. It was when killing Matt made her flip her switch on when trying to kill Bonnie did not even make her flinch. I'm not. She needs to be set free. And I love Lucy so much. Are you talking about online comments? Because yeah, they are brutal on youtube and I am sure worse on Twitter. What puzzled me though was when some fans were offended by Bonkai on Elena/Nina's behalf. Did they date or something? I don't know what the OP meant but people are vicious towards her specifically online whenever Bamon is brought up. Also, I don't know that she was disparaging herself but it certainly sounds bad for Kat that she had to beg more likely than simply argue for her job. I would not be surprised if Ian intervened in her favour. But maybe she was doing that just to take the heat off CD, whom sje knows is simply repeating what she is told. Well, for one the Originals is really run by Michael Narducci so I think that's why. I think Julie has lost interest in the Originals when it evolved past shipping nonsense and tried to deal with issues like identity, morality, trust and family. Narducci doesn't even consider ships, he just writes moments for the charcaters and people will ship what they will, which is how it should be handled. I have this weird impression about Caroline Dries from this past comic con when she was not with Julie. She sounded less negative towards Bonnie. It's weird. For example, I was watching the comic-con interviews and how she described Bonnie in relation to changing Damon in the TVLine interview was the exact same way Julie Plec described Elena in relation to Damon. Seriously, the wording was exactly the same. So maybe she is just toeing the company line because Julie is her boss? I don't follow either of them or care about them so all I hear about them is from this forum and the only thing I actively remember is this because I remember finding it funny ad ironic that they were so out of sync. Either way it sucks that they are so shitty to both the character and actress. Kat joined their cast super young (I think she was the youngest?) and has probably had quite formative experiences on this stupid show. She seems to really like and respect Julie for some reason. And they always mention being together at "extracurricular" events when at conventions and stuff so I don't get Julie's attitude towards Kat and Bonnie. I hope Kat knows she can do better than begging Julie Plec, her acting has gotten really good and she should expand her horizons instead of being stuck in TVD land. Then again, I don't know her financial situation so maybe she needs the show? But when I see her in interviews with Julie, it seems like she really looks up to her... Quite a shame. Anyhoo, I came here originally to assuage my fears about Bonnie and motherfucking Enzo getting together but it seems you all are having the same fears. Sigh... this show needs to go so I can see Kat in other stuff. Heck even if she went to the Originals she would already be better off. I really want Matt and Bonnie together actually. The spark got ignited when they had that scene by the swimming pool. And somehow, even though he was with both Elena and Caroline, it's just way less gross to me than Bamon. I find it sad that Kat's good chemistry with everyone was squandered. I feel like whenever a pairing with her and whoever works well, they keep her and that scene partner apart or make it so that they can't be together in scenes anymore. I would have loved them to slow burn Matt and Bonnie. I really wanted them together last season, finally holding their asshole vampire friends accountable. Also, I don't know how I feel about her helping Alaric. At first she was clearly humouring him but then got into it. I will just make a headcanon that she got curious as they got closer and closer and that's why she went along with it. I did appreciate them paying some lip service by having her clearly draw the lines. Maybe if Julie is away, busy with her new show the writing for Bonbon can be halfway decent? I don't know. Fingers crossed, and for all that is holy, please keep Enzo away from her. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sob...

Of course she was't. Which is why I said that the positive spin on my feelings is saying she didn't bother me. She's useless and ultimately inconsequential because we know what's in Crane's future. I hope the show treats her as such. I don't like her, I just no longer feel the need to claw my eyes out and burst my eardrums because of her presence on screen. I just hope they slowly dwindle her presence to nothing. I am just glad the show is aware that she's not working, she should've stayed as a one episode, short guest star idea she was at the beginning.

What I learned from this crossover... SH is way better than Bones. And I fucking loved Bones at the start (will never forgive them for not bringing Zack back). I had fun with what I saw of Bones (tuned in late) and I like Ichabod being challenged and almost disliked for a change. While I enjoyed the way the leads paired off, the glaring pattern of Abbie only having significant bonds with older father figures/mentor is a little tiring. I liked the little bit we got of Brennan and Abbie butting heads over the jurisdiction of the body and I kind of wish they had done more scenes together. And of course Booth knew Corbin...Everyone did apparently. For the SH half, I would say it was my second favourite because the production value was much better and it really enhances the show. Good stuff I like that General Howe was brought back, both the FB actor and the zombie version were great. I like that we are getting a different coloured rose (awww...bye bye Zoe) and that they are going to reach some kind of milestone in the season arc, and it's about time since next week will be a third of the way through and the overall plot is way behind what it should be. Good news is I don't feel the sense of dread I did last year at the same episode count. I like how the A and B plots are converging, and I am scared for Jenny because I feel like Pandora will target her to get to Abbie Pandora you creepster, never change and stay evil. I like characters with conviction (especially evil ones). Of course in her head she's not evil, that's what makes it great. It's not good per say but it's not bad so I will be positive and say that Betsy didn't bother me this episode. I feel like they are focusing the BADASSTM part of her character instead of trying to sell her as the most awesome, ultimate womanest woman ever. And they had the balls to address their need to spice up Betsy Ross, even though it's ridiculous and, like Zoe's choice, is purely for Ichabod's benefit. They might be defending their choice but I will look at it as them making fun of themselves. I like when they remember Ichabod was a soldier and a Captain, he should be always as awesome at fighting as he was tonight. The bad Zoe was cute at first but every time since her first introduction they have tried harder and harder to make her cutesy and this acting like a shy 10 year old bullshit needs to stop. Especially when juxtaposed with how aggressive she is when expressing herself on electronic platforms. The whole time Abbie was pushing Ichabod to date, I was like "nope, not here for that". That's just not her, she teases him and stuff and yeah, Abbie wouldn't tell him not to date but she wouldn't care whether he did or not. Since when is she the love coach type of bestie? And show, I want Abbie talking about her own damn relationship instead of focusing on Crane's. All they're doing by spending so much time on it is reminding me that aside from her father dilemma (really the Corbin stuff is more about Jenny who thought she knew everything while Abbie was always kept in the dark), the one big interpersonal storyline I was looking forward to was her and Daniel, which I am not getting. And the many times she pushed for it were just weird. I have a problem because Abbie, outside of her being awesome when fighting, is not very fun this season. I feel like Nicole is tired of the show and it makes me wish for cancellation just so she can be free. Or maybe I am projecting. I don't know, she just seems bored. At least last season had a bigger budget so she could have fun with the action part of the show more but now... there is nothing really interesting happening here. It's not challenging for her, we are not exploring anything new in her character. I mean her having daddy issues was pretty clear and they are acting like the dad arc was resolved (I think they are distracting us but still). There is struggle between her professional life and Witnessing but she hasn't show the enthusiasm she had in the pilot where you could feel she felt at home at the FBI. And it's ok if she doesn't anymore but address it, impressive as it is to be able to get all these emotional cues from Nicole's face, the dialogue needs to show that the Show is intentionally addressing this conflict. Sigh...I have grievances. All I can hope for are more Abbie/Pandora scenes where they can talk about her fears more, because so far it's all implications. Fix the Reynolds situation now writers. Fix it. Need more Abbie/Jenny scenes. Stat. And Joe Ichabod scenes too for that matter.

Can someone use the twitter to remind the writers that the show is called ARROW for a reason? I feel like this is my feedback every week. Sigh... I jumped in a third into the episode and will catch up on Hulu buut what I saw was enough for me to feel this way. Get it together people.

Well not that different. Haven't all writers this season been past seasons writers? Just checked wikipedia...Yes they are.

Oh I am not crazy enough to think they are but at least my imagination has a fun and nice jumping off point. The fact that they can disappoint me means I have expectations instead of just being exasperated and shocked by their stupidity.

Don't actually know you but, being a shitty daughter as of late, I can recognise a good mum and I hope your daughter knows and tells you so. If not, don't worry she will. In general my sentiments reflect yours. Except the show is trying really hard to sell how attractive Ichabod is, how perfect of a woman Sexy Betsy and how cute him and Zoe are. I would rather neither had a romantic storyline after a season of terrible mythology and world building that is in need of re-establishing but if we' re here, then it should be equal. Especially when you think about the character development attached to Abbie in a relationship. I totally agree that having he go on dates or whatever would be silly, and I really hope they don't go there with Ichabod onscreen. He already has track record of putting witness duty second, if he is shown to be dating or whatever, it's only fair that we get treated to her doing something fun as well. Otherwise the show is clearly displaying its lack of care in Abbie's development while shoving the adventures in the love game of Ichabod Crane down my throat. In both timelines. From your fingertips to their scripts. Because infantilised and hero-worshipping female love interests is Hollywood shorthand speak for cute girl who admires the hero. Oh yeah. They were good in it. Although the script was terrible (gosh, some of the dialogue...I command them for staying so earnest in their scenes), the cast was great. PS: re: Tom kissing scenes, I saw his part with Billie Piper and there didn't seem to be a chemistry problem nor was the kissing awkward so I don't know what last week's kiss was about. Two things from that video: 1) Is it me or has he lost weight since then (heck even since Salmon fishing- his face was fuller)? 2)Nice bum.

To be fair, this is the same show that said that Katrina's weakness was her compassion...as in not wanting her husband to die and leaving her baby in a safe place (that was made dangerous by both their presence) until she returned. That has nothing to do with compassion. That is 100% self interest. Love for others yes, but it was about not losing them. If they were strangers? Sure.

Shit...I guess that kills the time travel theory. Or not? Because if she was sent into the "real" Betsy Ross' body, then it makes sense she would have relatives. Found this on the tumblr (http://the-head-and-the-kin.tumblr.com/post/131833297728/so-the-betsy-ross-paradoxes-1-how-do-the-writers) This is clearly something I think should happen but don't think ever will. I know I am hurting myself but this is what a nerd does. We create 10000000000000x more elaborate schemes than writers. One thing this season is doing really well is that they are cultivating a lot of speculation even though they are low on the mythology front. A genre show should always keep the watchers guessing and speculating.

Yeah but even if she is terrible at inflections and accents, she can still freaking read. She can say the words and string them together in a sentence. I am oscillating between predicting her death and predicting her being a baddie. It was super weird. The first kiss, I could accept because he was surprised but the second where he kissed her on purpose? Yikes. Transcript of the scene (from http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=153&t=23264&sid=b1195e8112f71a0dcec1f6b4df95571f) Pandora: Hello, Sleepyhead. Abbie: What the hell are you doing here? Pandora: Shh. There's no need for that. There's no need for any of it. But we fight and we fight and we fight, don't we? And then we get hurt. Poor thing. Abbie: As long as you keep attacking children... I will keep fighting. Pandora: You're not like the others, are you? And you don't crave mortality. Not your own or your sister's or even your fellow Napalutu. (echoing): Napalutu... And yet you fight. You fight like you have something to lose. So what is it, my brave one? What is the one pesky thing that you cannot accept to lose? It can't be your mother. We know what happened to her. Then what about your father? (monitor beeping faster) Mm. God spoke to my father. Told him to beat me. Until I forgot all language. When I tired of it... he sold me to slavery, boasting of my prelapsarian innocence. But then... when I learned how to speak again, I convinced my owner to feed my father to his lion. And it was sadder than I expected. But I suppose that's that parent-child bond. Well... I do hope that you didn't grow too attached to those two little girls. Such a tragedy. The problem is more that they are spending quite a bit a screentime on his two love interests and hers is colleague zoning her hard and is seen for 5 seconds. If one has a love interest the other needs one too. Otherwise it's just not freaking fair. As for the comparison thing, 1) we don't know how it ended and 2) even if Ichabod somehow came to the conclusion that it's OK to date your partner, Abbie definitely hasn't. Yeah, I don't see the point of Reynolds right now. I feel like they wanted to give Ichabod LI and knew they were going to get shit from it if Abbie didn't get any so they announced him as such and when they got shit from Ichabod's LI being a regular they promoted him as a regular. I thought he was going to be there to represent Abbie's desire to follow her dreams. So far, Nicole has played Abbie as hesitant and uncertain when it comes to the destiny and prophecy aspect of the mission (which I interpret as being because it's getting more and more obvious that she won't get the "normal" life she wanted, and the fight no longer has a time-stamp for its expiration date). All he's done so far is send mixed signals of putting her in inappropriate situations while repeating that their fling doesn't matter. They don't even dwell on Abbie's reaction and thoughts on it (she always seems wary and then relaxes when he draws the line, though she looks slightly hurt he is so eager to say how little it meant). It's actually quite a wasted opportunity of sister bonding scenes, or heck even more of the roommate sitcom portion of the show with Ichabod, to not have someone grilling her about it. Come on, since when does Ichabod mind his business? I got distracted by the much more interesting reveal about her father but now I am really wondering why he's on my screen. Although I give them points for this (quote from the io9 recap for Whispers in the dark), I really want them to give more time to this character or do away with him. ETA: To be fair-er, I just saw on someone's tumblr that there was a scene cut between the two of them this past episode so I guess it's even worse, there might be a bunch of stuff developing we're not privy to because the writers, directors or whoever edited this episode (and maybe previous ones) don't think this is important stuff. Ah the frustration!!!

Hey, new to watching this show and just finished season 1. I really miss Lowell (I was so bummed he died I had to take a day off binging the show on Netflix). Please tell me I am not the only one really over Major. Why couldn't he have died instead? PS: I know it's unfair to Major, the out of reach because reasons love interest is hard to like for me but gosh he is so bland. I do love the show though and can't wait to see how Blaine and Major deal with being cured. Rose McIver is the best. I love Ravi and Peyton (I hope she comes back) too. And I appreciated that they made it realistic that only a Rookie trying to catch a break would actually depend this much on a psychic and I feel like he actually got better at his job as the season went on. I do hope they bring him in on the secret but I am not tired of his "uh oh, she being weird-er" looks when Liv eats a more out there brain just yet.

Hey, seeing as SH is on its last breath (and FOX is kindly -sarcasm- switching off breath support), anyone have a bucket list?

Oh, wow that was in bad taste, Nikki Reed. Really, dismissing the real life inspiration for your character? And what research is she talking about!? She can't even not use modern turns of phrase...She needs to stop. The shade towards Zoe in that article is hilarious! And I am disappointed for Nicole that she didn't get a mermaid costume, lol. I think if it was the cast's choice, that would've been her go to.

But, but... How? Does she have speech impediment? Can't she read? Because otherwise there is no excuse. If I can act out a bit from Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and English is not my even first language, I am sure that someone who gets paid for acting can at least be passably OK at it? The worst is, in the scenes with her niece she actually wasn't bad. Granted there wasn't much talking but she didn't try so hard which made her a much easier pill to swallow. Maybe she should just not...talk? At this point, I have to believe this is purposeful. Please show. I love you. So. MUCH! This is why I am here with you beautiful people. This line made me laugh so hard. I love you.

Who wrote this episode? Because I love them. This was such a good episode. They packed so much into it. We had all members of the group in different combinations... I freaking loved it. I loved Abbie and I am so worried about her because I think she is close to folding under the pressure. And they really make me worried about Jenny, because it's pretty clear that her rag-tag group is her family and she's afraid of losing them. I loved Crane and his ott-ness and I loved Jenny sooo much . Oh Pandora, you beautiful, creepy mess... It's funny last week made me think that I want more Abbie/Pandora scenes. Keep them coming! And her backstory sounded real to me, I hope it is. I hope she sold her soul for vengeance. Can't wait to learn more. Gasp! I even liked Betsy Ross. She was actually a human being with a real personality. While her modern speech is still horrendous, the last scene didn't put me off either. I know, I am shocked. I hope they give her more scenes of not trying to be Strong Female CharacterTM. Oh, and I totally concur with the sent back in time idea. And the kids were good, not annoying at all. And little Gregory was adorable. I will probably have more analytical and well thought out feedback but for now I just want to express my happiness...and propose to the writer.

Oh yeah, it's not a walk in the park. But it's not this rare and fatal affliction some people seem to believe it is. Almost everyone in my family has had it more than twice. The fever is definitely one of the most worrying symptoms especially when it goes a long time untreated. But if you are already on the look out, over the counter medication (at least in countries where it's more common) stops it pretty quickly. Especially if it's not the first time. Of course it can have bad consequences but most of the time, if the person lives in an urban setting and is seen to by medical professionals quickly enough, it's not The Worst. The fatalities in developing countries almost always come from the fact that they didn't/couldn't get medical attention in time. Yeah...but this is a genre show with an ancient sumerian showing figures meant to look like the heroes... let a girl dream.