Deadly S(i)moulders

Qeela // Storyteller // TS2// Belladonna Trove

[annerb-fic]

When you have a competency kink the size of China and the enemy you’ve sworn to hate for all eternity is the most competent person you’ve ever met.

[somethingelsefine]

Okay so I get it now. I get why the 1995 pride and prejudice is so long.

They needed to allow extra time for all the distant, longing looks, pining, and brooding. Fair enough.

[gaybuckybarnessss]

PAUL MESCAL & JOSH O'CONNOR The History of Sound (2025)

[thevalleyisjolly]

I love how Wake Up Dead Man subverts the usual mystery trope of the detective gathering all the suspects in a room to explain the case and reveal the murderer. They could have done that, but this is a story where we see domineering, charismatic individuals imposing their will and their power over people to do whatever they like - to tragic and horrific consequences for everyone involved. And Benoit almost -almost!- becomes one of those individuals. He literally climbs the pulpit to silence them all with a thunderous voice, to start telling the story that he wants them to see as the truth. If he had gone on, unmasked the murderer in front of everyone, he would have solved the case but been no different than Jefferson or Prentice. Not in the sense that he would act out of malevolence or that what he told the other characters was going to be a false version of events - but he would be one more righteous preacher on the pulpit, looking down and condemning the sinner. It is so significant that he has that Damascus moment, that he stops. He lets the murderer come forth freely, of their own will, in private, and it is Jud who hears their confession. No dramatic accusations or passionate explanations. Just a kind man and a good priest kneeling down with the culprit, listening to what they have to say, offering grace. And in doing so, he finally breaks the hold that the Wicks have had over the story and their parishioners for decades - not with anger or hatred as Jefferson wanted from him, but with kindness and compassion.

[purplewisteria7]

Another neat detail I noticed in Wake Up Dead Man is that when Father Jud says he’s just spent the past hour writing down everything that happened and summing up the story, it actually happens exactly one hour into the film.

[a-little-bit-oddish]

despite the fact that jud's form and view of christianity is a very pleasant one, i appreciate that no part of benoit blanc is converted. it's not like i expected benoit to become a christian obviously, but i expected him to potentially stay for a service at the end, when invited. or to show appreciation for what jud is building at his church. even just appreciation that he's welcome.

after the whole movie, when benoit is given the invite, he still says there's nothing he wants less than to stay in that church. it's very, very reasonable and realistic of a traumatized atheist, but i almost never see it depicted in this way. usually they come around to "see the beauty" in one way or another. i just really appreciate that they didn't do that.

[chaos-wanderer]

you might think an older gay atheist detective and a devout young catholic priest would make a terrible mystery-solving duo, but you would be dead wrong

[agentmilayawithshield]

"Wake Up Dead Man", and the thankless labor of women

One of the things that stayed with me the most, was reflecting on traditional gender roles in the Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude congregation and how it relates to religion in general.

Vera halts her life to raise a child she has no moral obligations towards. Simone is the church's biggest donor, keeping it operable basically by herself. Martha is the only employee handling administrative work in the church, keeping the treasure a secret her whole life. They are all endlessly devoted. They are all meant to be contrasts of Grace, the real "women of God," and in the end, it's thankless labor from all of them.

Vera's adopted brother is a selfish jackass who appreciates nothing about what she did for him. He saw her as just a free nanny to be "dumped" once his real father showed up.

Simone is being prayed on at her weakest and used as a cash cow, only to be told she can't be healed because she's a faithless woman.

And Martha only realises at the tail end of her life that her selfless devotion to a man and his teachings meant nothing to him. That he betrayed her the first chance he gets.

Wicks sees himself as blameless, has no standard for his own behavior. He's a disgusting, horrible man, who deserves none of their devotion.

When Vera and Martha realize that their whole life they trusted the story of the "harlot whore", only to experience the exact same treatment even after doing everything in their power not to be like her, that's the first time they can reflect on her, and when they finally realize:

"That poor girl."

[heydocverdant]

That’s part of why I liked that the church is renamed “Our Lady of Perpetual Grace” at the end of— instead of the church being built off the demonization of some poor suffering girl, it’s named for her as a reminder

[allpinkandgoldandglittering]

I love how Blanc went from tapping a single note on a piano to hurry the interviews along while remaining a silent and mysterious figure in the background to straight up blasting the phantom of the opera on a church organ to interrupt a murder confession

[orangechickenpillow]

This is how the movie went right

[mapetitefeedeslilas]

*the phantom of the opera plays in the background*

[onfiretakemehigher]

no context wake up dead man spoilers

[neverbelongedtoangels]

I fucking love the Knives Out movies. I love the different cast every movie concept, I love Benoit Blanc and his ridiculous accent, I love how they always come out around christmas for some reason, I love how original they are, I love a murder mystery. give me 14 of these films and I will eat them up

[sofoulandfairaday]

the best thing about wake up dead man is its constant emphasis on the idea that a good christian loves and serves sinners. the world we live in is obsessed with moral purity—across all fringes of society and all political factions—and is quick to cast out anyone deemed “unworthy,” morally corrupt, holding the wrong views, or guilty of wrongdoing. father jud, by contrast, recognizes himself as a sinner, and embraces those who are broken, hateful and even destructive forces in society (see: cy). he loves and serves bad people. they are part of his flock.

[box-dwelling]

I'm gonna just be basking in wake up dead man for a while and I'm sure I'll have more thoughts but good on them for doing such a moving story about religion and what it can mean to people and how it can be exploited and abuse but also heal while staying steadfast in the fact that Blanc is not religious. Because if there's one thing that old southern queen isn't, its fucking catholic

[fourquartertoast]

literally though! it's not even a particularly anti-catholic film; the main character's whole thing is that religion isn't supposed to be about hate, and that everybody else in that community is doing catholicism wrong, so on and so forth. and then you got benoit blanc over here going "god is fake and your religion is based in bigotry, hope you have fun though"

he's not even mean about it. it's really very funny

[look-a-diversion]

Knives Out: y’all made a bad situation worse and royally fucked yourselves over by treating this young woman badly

Glass Onion: y’all idiots planted the seeds of your own destruction by treating these women badly

Wake Up Dead Man: all this tragedy could have been avoided if y’all had simply NOT TREATED THESE WOMEN SO BADLY HOW DARE YOU

[offonaherosjourney]

ALL KNIVES OUT MOVIES ARE ABOUT CHOOSING KINDNESS.

ALL KNIVES OUT MOVIES ARE ABOUT DRINKING THE RESPECT WOMEN JUICE.

ALL KNIVES OUT MOVIES ARE ABOUT FUCKING AROUND AND FINDING OUT.

*I am forcibly pulled away from the microphone*

[pretentious-liminal-vampire]

*I am the heckler at the back*

ALL KNIVES OUT MOVIES ARE ABOUT MARVEL ACTORS BEING MURDERERS.

ALL KNIVES OUT MOVIES ARE ABOUT BLANC ADOPTING THE PUREST OF SOULS AND GIVING THEM THE BEST POSSIBLE ENDINGS.

[temothylol]

if i came to investigate a case and the main suspect was named “judas duplicitous” i’d throw in the towel dude