#danielle talks fandom

[bensonstablers]

I'm rewatching Dare Me because last month I finally read the book and I have to say, something the show does better is giving Beth more of a backstory and providing us not only with an insight to that but also an insight to her living situation.

Both of those things are limited, or completely absent, in the book because it is entirely (mosty?) from Addy's POV but by adding them to the show (with more detial but also with slightly altered detail), Beth's personality and behaviour make more sense and feel more believable. None of it justifies some of the things she says and does but it does explain them and it makes her feel more real (and like I said, believable) and now I'm even more sad than ever that the show got cancelled because the potential was so good and they did a great job at adapting the source material 😩

[bensonstablers]

thinking about how JJ often comes up with these over-the-top plans which are often on the fly and the rest of the Pogues (or whoever) quickly point out to him why those plans will not work. however, when Kie doesn’t show up to the plane in season 3, he takes off to look for her and practically wings the whole thing and he finds her and helps her and he’s able to pull the whole thing off despite some hitches because he’s so determined to make sure she’s safe and wants to protect her from something she never wanted in the first place (boarding school/being sent away). like, tracking her down and breaking her out of the wilderness place was yet another on the fly thing but it doesn't matter because it's Kie and JJ won't give up on her and I'm actually quite emotional thinking about it

[bensonstablers]

I don't know, I feel like if they wanted to destroy Barba's character (or wanted to be successful in doing so) then they would've had him continue to be Wheatley's lawyer once the trial was over.

I think Barba's reasonings for taking the case were sound and did fit in with this character (to some degree). Naturally there were bits that felt OOC but not enough to be alarming. And like, he and Liv (and others) will definitely end up on good terms again (although I don't always trust the writers and suspect they'll have them reconcile only when absolutely necessarily).

Not to mention, there was such a good job done of Barba's expressions/reactions throughout. You could see him being apprehensive about Wheatley even though he thought the case was worth working on. And his expression when Liv said she felt betrayed showed how much that affected him. There were other little moments too. He wasn't heartless or taking the case to spite his friends or anything. And again, I think him turning down Wheatley once the trial was over shows it really was about that specific case (and the details of it in terms of police work and evidence) and not because it was Wheatley.

Barba thought going into it was that there was room for reasonable doubt and that the evidence was sketchy (as well as the procedures taken, like having Elliot involved from the start). We as an audience know that Wheatley is involved in some way and that he's a horrible, dangerous man but people like Barba can't be sure if he's to blame for the crime at hand (Kathy's murder) when the evidence and whatnot is shaky (especially from an outside perspective). And hell, maybe he wasn't involved. Based on the OC 2x09 ending, maybe it was all Angela. (Although I doubt he wasn't involved at least to some degree).

I think Barba being brought in for the reasons he was actually sheds light on how the investigation was handled at times and highlights how good Wheatley (and/or his family) are good at covering their tracks and/or deflecting attention away from themselves. I think the balance between helping the plot and keeping Barba in character could've been a bit better but it was still there. And it was perfectly clear it was the case and how it was handled that attracted Barba to become involved and not the fact that it was against his friends (/loved ones) and certainly not because of Wheatley.

Honestly, for me at least, the major downside is that it'll probably be a while before he appears again (or is mentioned as having appeared in canon but off camera) and he and Liv (and whoever else) catch up again. I do also think there could have been more time dedicated to Liv and Barba actually talking post trial to discuss in more detail why he took the case to really solidify it was about upholding the law and making law enforcement responsible for how they tackle cases so that no one, but particularly someone with less power than Wheatley, doesn't get trapped in the system but alas.

Either way, Barba, my love, I hope the writers bring you back again soon 💙

[bensonstablers]

one thing i love about the kevin can f**k himself season one finale is that the scene with neil and allison at the end is still in the sitcom vibe/set up even when things turn dark and then patty comes in and literally forces neil into the gloomier/tv drama side. 

normally it’s a quick and sudden cut and neil, kevin, and peter are firmly in the sitcom side, even when allison calls kevin a dick, both he and peter still remain in the sitcom side of things and remain ignorant/unaware of the other side.

but that final scene is the first time it felt like the wall between the two styles were really beginning to crumble. like, there have been moments where characters (mostly allison and patty) have done or said something in the sitcom style that references events from the drama style, however, correct me if i’m wrong, but i’m pretty sure that scene with allison and neil at the end is the most violence we saw on camera in the sitcom style and i just think it’s going to be so good to see a progression in which the sitcom side becomes less so as the tv drama vibes take over.

[bensonstablers]

I still haven’t seen 23x22 yet but I finally watched episode 21 and honestly, one of the major things — if not, the biggest thing — I’ve realised was missing from this season is Olivia’s therapy sessions with Lindstrom.

She confesses to Fin in 23x03 that she’s been lying in therapy and that would have been the perfect chance to start showing those sessions every now and then. Even if those scenes were super short, it would have given us so much insight into Olivia’s thoughts and feelings in regards to not just Elliot’s return but also Burton Lowe, Noah’s bullying, Barba’s return/defending Wheatley, the change from Garland to McGrath, Kat leaving the team, and so on. 

Also, for all the flaws 23x21 might have, I do think that Olivia’s thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions would have made more sense — read: not necessarily justifying those things but it would have added more explanation to them to make her feel a little less OOC at certain points — if we had a better grasp at where she’s at both mentally and emotionally which is something that could have been shown to us so easily through her therapy sessions. 

[bensonstablers]

I’m only 4 episodes into the show at the moment but I’m obsessed with how they’ve translated Kaz and Inej and their dynamic from book to screen.

(Technically minor book spoilers and show spoilers below, haha).

There’s so many instances in the book where Kaz and Inej are shown to think highly of the other (beyond general respect for their talents/capibilities) and also shown to genuinely care for one another but a lot of the time it’s internal and is deliberately hidden way. Even their (romantic) feelings for one another are hidden but still apparent (and more and more so as the books progress).

In the books, the reader is made privy to all of that due to the fact that it’s close third person and switches POV amongst the characters so we get inside their heads. In the show, it’s not quite the same, but we still get that insight into the way they feel about each other (and what they think of each other) only it’s done through some amazing face acting as well as body language (and some dialogue moments).

It’s all translated so well and I’m so obsessed with the witing and whatnot as well as the chemistry between, and talent of, Freddy Carter and Amita Suman. The show really has captured them and we haven’t even reached the major events of the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom books yet.

[bensonstablers]

okay but i’m stuck on the “dumpling?” moment because it’s been made very clear how much mick loves food so like the fact he offers some of his food to annie really just feels like a pretty big gesture coming from him, y’know? not to mention the silence leading up to that moment and the looks they share and the fact he actually heard her out and didn’t automatically shut her down and now i get to cry over both of the marks sisters sharing arguably vulnerable and soft moments with their respective gang friends 😭😭

[bensonstablers]

thinking about how even though elliot was high out of his mind when he admitted that the “but in a parallel universe, it will always be you and i” line was the only part of the letter that’s genuinely from him, he was (most likely) completely sober when he actually wrote it and with his whole heart thought, “fuck it” and slipped it in there at the last second.

and even if he wasn’t sober when he wrote it, it just adds to this idea that the second his inhibitions are lowered, his first thought — or at least, his most pressing one — is olivia.