Simon K

Hey guys it’s Simon here. I’m blogging along with whatever comes this way.

[simonk98]

It’s almost a day later since the series finale of Euphoria and after going round and around on Twitter sharing my thoughts to other upset fans, I think I finally have worked out what to say in a long form post here unrestricted by characters.

I think that paying tribute to Angus by showing the harsh nature of Fentanyl lacing was important, especially given the platform Euphoria has established over the last 7 years, however the decision for it to affect Rue was a bad one. Story wise, Rue has worked out that Alamo was keeping the IDs of Silver Slipper dancers in the safe that was robbed, confirming her suspicions that he’s involved in sex trafficking, after finding this out she should have found a way to not take the tablet given to her out of suspicion (whether fake swallowing or saving it for later or something), it seems like the realistic thing to do. Taking it feels like a narratively stupid thing to do, but this isn’t the first time Sam has cut corners to get his vision made.

And this leads me to why this move shouldn’t work production wise. Zendaya has spoken in length before how much she sees redemption for Rue, that she has taken on board how much of a role model she is for former addicts and addicts who are seeing themselves in her and seeing her struggle with substance abuse and because of this, want to get clean themselves. “If Sam is an indication of who Rue can be, she’ll be alright,” is a direct quote from her, as an executive producer, she always pushed for Rue to have the more optimistic ending in spite of everything being stacked up against her with Layrie & the suitcase (which would eventually be resolved in the show’s third season).

From what I can recall, Euphoria was created from Sam’s own experiences with addiction, Rue being his outlet and admittedly said himself he had a different ending for Rue in mind than the one we got, however Angus’s passing made him change his mind “If I was younger now, going through what I was going through, I don’t think I would have made it,” was his reasoning behind the decision to kill Rue. Now while I have sympathy with him, I think this could have been executed through another character like Cassie for equal dramatic effect or could have been built on from Tish taking one of Laurie’s tampered drugs, this could have easily led to Rue having a moment to discuss how easy it can be for something like this to happen in today’s climate and ultimately continue using this to push forward in her sobriety or religious awakening, or even both.

Now I think that after Sam reportedly cracked the shits at Zendaya’s scheduling issues, blaming them for the delay of the show (despite the fact Jacob & Sydney were also booked during the break between Seasons 2 & 3 and him also taking over The Idol’s production in the meantime), she wanted out of the show and as a result he saddled her with this ending and also demoted her so she wouldn’t have grounds to fight back as he was the main showrunner and wasn’t working with her in an equal capacity anymore. It’s a power play move that you’d think is shocking but when you consider how he gave Kat a half baked story last season after she took issue with the weight story he’d written & also how Jules’s character development went right out the window following her special ep which Hunter worked on with him, you can see a pattern forming, almost a form of punishment for either disagreement or doing better than him when it came to constructing the characters.

Zendaya’s lack of promoting the season also speaks volumes considering how much she used to do, even making formal letters to post on Instagram regarding the show’s content. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Surpriya being dropped from The Pitt the day the ep she was most looking forward to aired, is that in the world of Hollywood, if something is being done too coincidentally, it was likely intentional. And Zendaya not keeping her role as EP and losing her agency over her character the season she gets the ending she wanted to avoid feels very telling of the mess that occurred BTS. As beautiful as the 7 minute scene was thanks to all involved from Zendaya, to Minka Kelly and even Marcell Rév, it’s not worth the payoff when you consider the BTS antics leading up to it.

Sam seemingly transferred his surrogacy to Ali in the end considering how he survived, mirroring his own survival, but I think the audience response to yesterday shows no one is buying this & is calling him out on his shoddy work on this season. The fact it ended with that Mormon family having more pathos dealing with Rue’s death and not her family and friends who we’ve known for longer is also a reflection of his writing shortcomings, as we at least deserved to see Leslie, Jules, Lexi & Maddy dealing with her death through more than monologues or in Jules’s case, monologue-less expressions of grief, having Rue appear to them to make peace feels like a more deserving end than what we got.

In short, Zendaya deserves to go 3/3 at the Emmys and Sam Levinson should never pick up a pen again and any women who choose to work with him, good luck with dealing that fragile ego.

[addictedtostepup]

i’m so sorry but the way girls goes from a millennial dark comedy to an actual tragedy that is impossible to watch in one episode and it’s the episode where marnie sings that fucking song

[simonk98]

I think we all know what Marnie song it was. On All Fours is the ep, isn’t it?

I also think that this is a great way to split the show in half (Seasons 1-3 is the millennial dark comedy, Seasons 4-6 are dark actual tragedy)

[kyupepper]

Roman Reigns' entire character is built on insecurity and envy, and I find that interesting.

Thanks to @twist3dtinkerbell, @gaydragonlord21, and @cryptidwrestling for wanting this and full GIF credit to @mocooper98 ♥

Also to be clear, this is an opinion piece on my read of Roman Reigns as a character, not of Joe Anoa'i the human being. It's okay if you don't agree with me! This is just a deep dive I like to do with wrestling characters for fun and I hope you enjoy.

From the start of his career, Roman Reigns has had a mountain of pressure on him to be successful. A former football player in a legacy wrestling family with countless successes over failures - it seems that the more successful a family is in a particular line of business, the more pressure there is for their legacy to continue to flourish.

I don't know about you reading this, but in my town, we have a few family businesses that have been around for multiple generations. One in particular is a family of chocolatiers, and I remember hearing about one of the family members not wanting to continue the business and going into accounting instead. I can't tell you how many people saw this as "disgraceful" or "shameful" to the chocolatier family. To this day, there is still talk in this town about how that person is a failure because they chose a different career path, or how it's probably because he "wasn't good at the daily happenings of the business and couldn't make the recipes correctly". These things are not true, but as word spreads, sometimes this becomes the accepted truth, and the person affected is left to defend themselves and prove to strangers that they are much more than what they were assumed to be.

How does this relate to Roman Reigns? From the moment he stepped in OVW, it was almost like the pressure was on for him to catch on quick and get fan support sooner rather than later. He was put in the Shield to give him some solid indie talent to work alongside and build his stock. He was considered THE Vince guy of the 2010's. Despite how new he was and how rusty his skills were in the beginning, he had every single brick laid out for him to be the next successful member of the Anoa'i legacy, but many fans (and even casuals) could feel the artificiality of his Big Dog run seeping through every word he spoke and every move in the ring. And so, as wrestling fans do, they turned on him. But they turned on him in a way that was so disgustingly mean. Blaming him when their favorites weren't pushed instead, booing main events and hijacking shows with vitriolic chants. Everyone points out his 2016 Rumble win, where Rock came to the ring as a way to show the fans that "Hey, you CAN cheer for him! I endorse him, this is my GUY!" But even those most loyal to the Attitude era couldn't help but shower the both of them with a chorus of boo's.

For YEARS, Roman - the whitest meat babyface of the late 2010's, showed up to his job and was showered with heckling at best and violence at worst over steps and decisions that he wasn't even making.

And then he announced his cancer diagnosis. Coming out to that usual showering of hatred and it completely flipping to cheers and adoration within minutes was probably so jarring for him. For once, Roman got praised. He got cheered. He was thanked... and acknowledged.

When he came back in 2020, this became the cornerstone of his promo work: Acknowledge me. You people did not appreciate what I gave you before I left, but you're going to do it now. People don't beg for acknowledgement or praise when they're confident in themselves. You don't see someone vague posting on Instagram for compliments on their new lipstick, or posting a thirst trap from the gym right after a workout because it's fun. They are seeking external validation for a void that has been created inside of them. You can see it in certain matches (Mania 39 is a great example) where the fans boo Roman and he has this flabbergasted look on his face, almost looking like he was back at the 2016 Rumble all over again.

Roman is insecure of the person he is and begs for acknowledgement from a fleeting and fickle audience to try and fill a void that can never be filled.

Which leads to my other point: Roman gets very defensive with how much he's put towards the business, and his defensiveness varies depending on which two groups an opponent lands in.

The first group covers those who are obvious threats to the title who have no relation to him. These are your John Cenas, your Cody Rhodes, anyone who could be considered contenders for the top spot and top championship. Roman takes on this cocky, arrogant personality, justifying himself being at the top purely because he believes he's better than them and deserves the position he's in because of his lineage. He uses his family and connections to his advantage, buttering them up to a point of jaded commitment so they will do the hard work for him, all in the guise of "loyalty to your bloodline".

On the flipside, you have the juicier group: those in his family that challenge for his spot as champion and his spot at this proverbial "table" that he built and assigned himself the head of. You see this with his interactions with Jey in 2020 and even with Jacob recently, where Roman devalues their accomplishments and bolsters his in the process, where he pushes the value of one's children aside for the value of his own. He gives them these angered, glaring looks as fans cheer for their arrivals and chant their names, giving them the praise that he has never received organically. After all he's been through, after how hard he's worked, after the blood and sweat and tears and dog food and embarrassing angles he's been in, they still give this praise to people he sees as less than him. And the worst part is, he's done so much and has put himself so high up that he is unable to see why they are so organically loved.

Roman is envious of people he sees as direct competition because he sees the things that didn't work for him work incredibly for his competitors, and he's envious of the family he sees as beneath him because he can't comprehend what they have that he doesn't.

Roman can seem like a one-dimensional character with a stale motivation for success (since it's been the same song and dance for over five years now), but when you peel back the curtain and see where this could be coming from, it makes his motives much more complex than wanting the next title or being the greatest of all time.

He just wants to be acknowledged.

[simonk98]

This is such a well written dissertation on Roman’s character, I feel like back before he turned, people were way too harsh on him, yes some things needed fine tuning (he could have easily turned heel back in 2017 considering how hot the crowd was on the Raw After WM33) but it wasn’t too bad, the way he got dragged up, down, left and right because he was VKM’s favourite & people thought that making an example of Roman would send a message was wrong to do, especially when people went low and talked about his family’s struggles and cancer diagnosis.

All of that resentment boiled over during his break where he made a deal with the devil known as Paul Heyman, his Acknowledge Me mission statement feels both like a command and a threat, a last resort, selling out has worked for so many before him that he has nothing left to lose, if they won’t respect him, he’ll tear everything to pieces until they have no choice.

It also symbolises Roman’s utterly depleted confidence, as like you said, anyone who has to flaunt their superiority like this is in no way superior at all and that he’s trying to gain that respect from an audience that is very fickle, he’ll never be able to fill that hole where his soul once was, he won’t ever be happy again until he takes a good look at himself and learns to grow on his own, not with VKM or Heyman tending to his roots, but by caring for himself.

While neither want to admit it, Roman & Solo are actually cut from the same cloth, both forced into being the leader of their units because the bigger person/s moved onto other things (The Rock moving to Hollywood, Roman & The Usos stepping up in WWE, as did many others before them), this is probably why Roman selected Solo as his successor instead of Jimmy, because he knew what it was like to lead the outcasts of the family who fended elsewhere. However as it is with wrestling, power is addicting, a poison that enters the bloodstream and twists good intentions like being the one in charge of a family dynasty into something twisted.

Roman broke the twins to rebuild them as his lifelines to continue his tyrannical reign, and in my opinion, ever since his return only went along with Jey’s ultimatum because he needed help, as shown when he got into Jey’s ear after he lost the World Heavyweight Championship, leading him to eliminate Jimmy from the Battle Royale & confront Punk about him bringing up Roman’s father. Even now in this new story of needing to do things on his own & making Jey feel bad about it might I add, once he was able to prove himself, he took The Usos back as his possessions to prop himself up, they aren’t family to him that he wants to clear a legacy for but a means to an end.

Solo on the other hand broke apart what remained of The Bloodline once he got into power after WM40 because he had a chip on his shoulder from being cast to the side, brought in those like him because he knew what it was like to be left behind, but soon enough, power got to him and he had to be front and centre of their moments like costing Jacob the MITB qualifier for example and how his need to be in control is affecting his relationship with Tama Tonga after he forced him to give The Wyatt Sick’s lantern back.

Speaking of which, more of Roman’s toxic superiority qualities have been passed along the bloodline evidenced when Solo stole the lantern, a symbol of Bray’s legacy, it was an utter showing of disrespect sort of like Roman bringing up Dusty’s name in vein when cutting promos on Cody, cause he saw himself as above them.

At the end of the day, Roman has been entrusted with a massive responsibility and it’s clear this has cracked his very core to where he doesn’t know who he is but a pillar for his dynasty, all he knows is to win gold, to make his sacrifices worth it for the Anoa’i legacy by any means necessary. But is it worth all this, all the broken hearts, spirits and minds? Is it worth destroying the very thing he swore to love and care about in the beginning just to earn that thinly veiled love he’s been chasing?

Also as a side note I loved how you used the chocolatier family story as it’s a universal testament to how something can be used to unite a bloodline can turn toxic if too much time and effort is poured into it, I hope that family member who went off to persue their dreams is living a happy life.

[jazzy-tzw]

Why do we boo Yuta

[jcalvinist]

He’s a little shit and a coward and he also betrayed Bryan to help Mox

[jazzy-tzw]

I think he deserves a second chance chat

[simonk98]

I agree, he didn't really attack Bryan until after he lost to Mox, the only unit he had that made him reach his full potential had fractured, it was all he knows so naturally he was gonna stay with the Death Riders. However I'm interested to see where his allegiance goes once Mox loses the title & Oceanspray becomes the champion.

[kyupepper]

I could do a character breakdown of how Roman is a consistently envious character who displays a strong jealousy of the family members that have organically grown fan praise and appreciation in a way he was never able to, and how Roman is a consistently insecure character who considers the validation of an audience that rejected him for years more important than the validation he wants from his family but I don't want to put y'all to sleep.

I'm not a Roman person but I do know when a character has depth and substance, and even though I HATE the Bloodline 2.0 shit, this is a consistent thing in Roman's character that isnt talked about a lot.

[anarchygrimes-deactivated201502]

[simonk98]

WWE releases are always fucking horrible, especially considering how they happen right before Smackdown so it takes the wind out of everyone’s sails, but Aleister’s is really messing me up, like he was about to be in a main event story, had captivating presence and was technically gifted, what the actual fuck are WWE and TKO playing at?!

[tommy-end]

[simonk98]

This is a special sneak peek of the moment Aleister dethrones Sami and becomes the new United States Champion.

[jazzy-tzw]

[jazzy-tzw]

This shit feels like a fever dream ngl

[moxleyrollins]

You buggy whip arm, no brain hillbilly. You think you can come here to this business, my business of pro wrestling, and run your mouth? Well, you just wrote a check that your narrow ass can't cash.

MONDAY NIGHT RAW | 04.06.26

[demonitoes]

OMGGGG HE CALLED HIM PAT MAGAFEET 😭😭😭

[simonk98]

CM Punk, I will forever love you to the ends of the Earth & back.

[simonk98]

I was talking about the past Smackdown with a friend & when discussing my feelings about the United States Championship scene, I started to think about the match up between Sami & Trick and the backlash surrounding Carmelo’s absence and then started to think. I feel like Melo’s recent loss won’t completely take him out of the picture for a WM appearance. I think Lil Yatchy is gonna try and get involved with him being sent off by the ref, meanwhile Trick pulls some sneaky shit to sabotage Sami, but then Melo rocks up and repays Trick with the same move that caused him to lose the title, allowing Sami to get the win. This starts a feud between Melo & Trick, properly introducing their dynamic in full to the casual WWE audience, whether or not we get an actual Sami, Melo & Trick triple threat at Clash In Italy or Melo & Trick square up there instead, I think they are about to embark on a feud together that will be the highlight of Smackdown the same way Melo vs Andrade was (except this time we’ll have a winner and it won’t result in a burial).

[loki69zowens]

didnt think i needed to do this post but here we are

ok sooo wrestlers do not control how they are booked ( if they win or loose a match etc)

some may have some creative control when it comes to promos (it is more of hey this is where we are going soo u get to pretty much say watever but u need to follow this direction)

but most of them (especially the wrestlers u see on tv every week u know who show up to work on a weekly) have zerooo control so u can hate a character (because he is a heel and going against your fave baby face)

but hating a wrestler because u think he is booked poorly or u dont like that he is a babyface and he 'stole' a tittle or a spot on a PLE card from your fave babyface is craazy remember they are both just following direction

[freakin-nightmare]

if you boo sami zayn just know that your evil and i don't trust you

[simonk98]

I genuinely hope at this point Sami goes on a Mercedes Moné tear and wins every other belt to piss everyone off, all this over what? Chad Gable, the Gable that helped sponsor Hulkkk's beer, who got utterly cucked out of his own racist gimmick which turned better once someone competent stepped into his shoes, over Jimmy Uso, who was moving to Raw and wouldn't have been able to win the United States Championship anyway? I can understand being upset for Carmelo Hayes but go and blame the person who put pen to paper, not the wrestlers.

Sami is a genuine blessing, a great talent and an even better man, and for people to be comparing him to a racist and booing him over something he can't control when people like Bork work there is utterly fucking ridiculous.

[simonk98]

Maybe it's because of my sense of optimism, but between Project Hail Mary, This Music May Contain Hope and Homebodies, I feel like this might be one of the strongest years for art.

[simonk98]

Between Maxxine dropping her title after her wedding & Melo dropping tonight after he just got hitched, I can only conclude Hunter hates honeymoons.

[darthmauls]

i'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that wwe made an ai promo of gable's el grande because his ass can't speak spanish

[cryptidwrestling]

I didn't know this what.

[darthmauls]

the slop in question

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[demonitoes]

DONT PISS ME OFF BLUD PLEASEEEEE

[simonk98]

He got cucked from his own gimmick & decided to make it everyone’s problem, I hope Ludwig hands him his ass at WM42 & he slinks off to Smackdown with the rest of American Made.