how depressing that he says this and the show cut over 90% of their book interactions, most of which were meaningful 1 on 1 interactions.
bolding not mine. but ironically, that's not where that foundation is laid in the much more emotionally intense, convincing, and beautiful book dynamic. book mensah earns murderbot's trust and fondness by repeatedly demonstrating her respect and care for it throughout the asr narrative. they're consistently kind to each other in a way fictional characters and most real people never are to each other. it's a special thing and the show doesn't even capture a fraction of it since so many mensah moments were outright cut.
i liked the fanfiction of the new stuff with them, but not that much, especially since virtually everything i wanted to see from book canon was cut and so the whole dynamic felt completely different/undermined. and they don't snark at or insult each other at all in book canon. that's one of many reasons why their dynamic is so unique, they are just gentle and good to each other despite everything. there were countless mensah moments cut which did a lot to sell the book dynamic. it's upsetting the show pared her down so much on top of the fandom not caring about her and not wanting her to be important to begin with.
SecUnit also loves Mensah because she was so hyper competent in stressful situations and such a great leader. And when other members of the crew wanted to smother SecUnit with emotions (positive and negative) Mensah would mitigate that and keep them off its back. SecUnit saying Mensah was its favorite at the of asr made total sense from what we saw in the course of the novel. Not so much in the show. The writers shifted the focus to Gurathin and his tragic backstory and character development. Which…why?
TL;DR: To my knowledge most CM fans wanted canon Garvez when the show was rebooted and it feels like a betrayal that the creators didn’t do it but are now baiting us with crumbs of a pairing that should’ve been together for years and would’ve had a new interesting dynamic if they were.
I did not watch the OG show week to week. I would catch up on reruns then when Luke was introduced and the possibility of romance was floated I binged his seasons and fell in love with Garvez. Now with the reboot I can’t help but be disappointed.
I’m not deep in the fandom but I feel like for the majority of fans, including myself, a big draw for the reboot was seeing Garvez finally be together. Seeing how they operate as a couple who now has to work together again after not working together for years and not being a couple when they previously worked together.
Can you imagine the tension?! It would’ve been delicious. But to find out they not only haven’t been romantic but only went on one date and didn’t really stay in contact platonically feels insulting. But then to add in a new love interest for Pen when the fans wanted her and Luke together felt like an extra kick for good measure.
I know fans can be demanding and unreasonable but Garvez felt like the easiest most wanted thing they could’ve done and they just didn’t? Just because? Now I’m waiting week after week for crumbs of a pairing that should’ve been canon! And with the way things were left they have to build back up to having them get together while justifying the time they’ve spent apart. It makes zero sense! And I kind of hate it.
I've been watching the Murderbot TV Show weekly and I don't think I like it.
TL;DR: It feels more like Sec Unit is telling Pres Aux story instead of its own.
This is as of episode 9. I've read all The Murderbot Diaries books more times than I can count. They are my favorites, not only for the narrator Kevin R. Free. But I'm not going to sit here and claim to be any kind of expert on everyone's characterization and arc in the books. I understand that the books are from SecUnit's perspective and it is an unreliable narrator in the biggest way. So it is very possible that a lot of stuff that happens in the books did not happen in the exact way SecUnit describes. This is something the show can use to their advantage to give the PresAux crew more to do instead of just being helpless unless SecUnit comes up with a plan. It gives them more depth, agency, and development.
However, this show feels like it's taking too much away from SecUnit and making it completely incompetent. In the books, it gets a lot of ideas from Sanctuary Moon and the other serials it watches when it's solving problems, but it uses those ideas to build and come up with creative solutions. It also is usually the one figuring things out and putting the pieces of a problem together to either get at the actual root cause or to surprise the antagonist with how much knowledge it actually has about whatever is going on. This builds throughout each story and culminates in SecUnit becoming a functional security consultant as a self-sustaining career path.
I can't see how that will happen if the show continues past season one. I understand PresAux contributing more to the problem-solving, but it feels like they figure out everything on their own constantly, to the point where I'm wondering why SecUnit is needed in this story. SecUnit didn't even figure out Lebeebee was a bad guy—it just killed a person who was directly threatening its client. No deduction required. The books are full of SecUnit acting as a detective for a variety of things. I could understand if its relationship with the crew was more positive, but it's constantly strained, so why are they keeping it around?
Speaking of the relationship with the crew: why would this version of these people—minus Ratthi—become so important to SecUnit? In the book, they were forced into a close-proximity situation when they had to basically live out of the hooper for a few days, which brought them closer, but that's not happening in this show. SecUnit hasn't made any real connections with any of the crew. They will trust it one episode because it saved them, then be scared of it the very next because of something they learned about it. They haven't seen that it usually means well, even when it does something they might not directly agree with. Like the Lebeebee thing again. That was a moment for them to realize it was protecting them and grow closer to it, but it's remained a stain on their relationship since it happened. Don't even get me started on Gurathin. In the book, once he realizes SecUnit is ultimately trying to save them and has its own past and trauma, he starts to be less adversarial toward it. That has not happened, and I don't see them ever getting to that point in the show's version.
The books flesh out the characters through SecUnit's POV, but everything revolves around SecUnit. The show feels like it's about the PresAux crew, and SecUnit is just there to tell their story, not its own.
Other small nitpicks:
The reduced negative commentary on how capitalism is the worst and framing PresAux as a solution that is still not completely ideal was a choice.
Where are SecUnit's drones?
Why don’t we have SecUnit rewinding conversations to catch up after not paying attention?
They leave the habitat because it’s dangerous, putting them in the hopper to be safe (like the book), then just go back to the habitat once GreyCris tells them they won’t bother them there? I know it’s a show and you have certain sets, but that felt super pointless and cut a lot of the tension from not having access to the habitat.
I don’t like how they use Sanctuary Moon as a narrative framing device—it feels too cliché. Once again, I understand why. I just don’t like it.
Having a long opening sequence in every episode, which are already super short, is annoying. It feels like they only do two things per episode because they are so short.
I almost wish they put books 1 and 2 together or did something to flesh out the world more.
I didn’t realize SecUnit already knew Mensah was a planetary admin. I thought it was going to be a twist like in the book. I was wrong and disappointed again.
For the most part, I’ve liked each episode more than the last, but as a whole, I don’t think I’ve been enjoying the show. I’m going to finish this season out and maybe do a full rewatch once I can watch all 10 episodes at once. And I think I’m going to give season 2 a chance, if only because I believe in giving shows a chance to find their footing and improve in a second season—but I don’t know if it’ll be week-to-week.
Removed the background music from a clip of Colin and Pen’s s*x scene. Not gonna lie, it does sound hotter.
Oh lord, what have I created? It’s no wonder Nicola calls us “horny little devils”. Yes, I know… I’m going straight to horny jail. But I’m just a Bisexual POLIN stan- let me be!
People talk about not liking how Colin’s face looks (especially his orgasm face) but I love that he’s looking at Penelope the entire time. It’s giving “I want to watch every expression she makes as I move within her. I want to the moment she falls apart”. And the fanfic lover in me is eating it tf up!
I’m pretty sure I’m not. And I’m ok with that. This is probably a super depressed person thing to say but if we don’t find every person in the world attractive why are we required to find ourselves attractive?
TURN OFF YOUR OTHER PHONE AND DO NOT TURN IT ON AGAIN UNTIL YOU ARE ALONE AND SAFE BECAUSE THE ALARM WILL COME THROUGH AS SOON AS THAT PHONE IS POWERED ON.
AGAIN I REPEAT:
OCTOBER 4, 2023
THE ALARM WILL COME THROUGH AS SOON AS THAT PHONE IS POWERED BACK ON.
SO ONLY POWER IT BACK ON WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
OCTOBER 4, 2023
If this doesn't make sense, then good news it's not for or about you but still reblog it because you never know who may need to know this.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/20
Fandom: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, Colin Bridgerton & Penelope Featherington, Colin Bridgerton & Gregory Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton & Colin Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton & Portia Featherington, Anthony Bridgerton & Colin Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton & Daphne Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton & Violet Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington & Edwina Sheffield | Edwina Sharma, Agatha Danbury & Penelope Featherington, Penelope Featherington & Will Mondrich, Alice Mondrich/Will Mondrich
Characters: Penelope Featherington, Colin Bridgerton, Anthony Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Violet Bridgerton, Portia Featherington, Edwina Sheffield | Edwina Sharma, Will Mondrich, Alice Mondrich, John Stirling I, Michael Stirling, Gregory Bridgerton
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Modern Era, Footballer Colin Bridgerton, Marketing Executive Penelope Featherington, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Fluff, Angst, Panic Attacks, Fade to Black, Football | Soccer, Getting Together, Long-Distance Relationship
Summary:
*** WIN A DATE WITH COLIN BRIDGERTON! ***
Though Penelope Featherington has kept up with her former schoolmate Colin Bridgerton's career as the star of Arsenal FC they have not seen or spoken to each other in 15 years. That is until a charity raffle brings them together and they form a friendship. As they grow closer Penelope's past threatens to tear them apart. Not to mention the stress she's under at work to take a job she feels she does not deserve. And Colin's impending retirement from football and his desire to leave behind a legacy on and off the pitch consuming him. Will they find a way to come together, or will they be forever stuck on the sidelines of love?
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