#rebel rewatch

[wild-aloof-rebel]

the thing about patrick being so open and sincere and brave in expressing his feelings for david is that he never asks david for the same in return, but the mere act of it inspires david to reciprocate. patrick tells david about his feelings about their first kiss, and david responds in kind. patrick performs for him at open mic night, and david--later--gives patrick his own performance. patrick tells david he loves him, and after david has a chance to work through it, he comes back to do the same. none of those are done with any expectation or demand that david pay patrick back for them in some way. it’s not tit for tat. it’s just patrick wanting to give david his honest, genuine love; it isn’t conditional on being returned--there are no strings attached to it--which probably isn’t something david’s experienced a lot of in his relationships. but it’s exactly that, the fact that nothing is expected in return which allows david to also be open and sincere and brave in expressing his feelings for patrick. 

[wild-aloof-rebel]

patrick brewer really just walked himself right into the store and told his crush, you’re gonna hire me to help you with your business, and i will get you the money to pay me because i’m not taking no for an answer. he really fucking did that.

[wild-aloof-rebel]

ugh i love ted with my whole entire heart. alexis is clearly so fucking bad at her job, but he’s super patient with her and tries to steer her toward doing a better job as gently as possible. he doesn’t get mad when she doesn’t do things right. he doesn’t blame her for any of it. he acknowledges that she comes from a background of privilege where she never had to learn these things, and instead of holding that against her, he tries his best to teach her, in small ways, to be better every day while still appreciating her for exactly who she already is.

[wild-aloof-rebel]

patrick’s delighted lil face when david calls him his boyfriend for the first time never fails to kill me

[wild-aloof-rebel]

one of my favorite things about this show is that the episodes don’t exist in a bubble like most sitcoms. the things that happen in one actually affect the others, not just in terms of character growth and plot arcs, but even in the little details. johnny works to get cinnamon buns for the lobby, and then again and again you see the cinnamon buns in various scenes. gifts and mementos are actually worn and displayed. moira’s “death” is casually recalled later with oh if i’ve died again, i swear to god... there’s just so much attention to detail that makes the show and the sets and the characters feel real and lived-in, and i love that so, so much.

[wild-aloof-rebel]

we talk a lot about patrick’s heart eyes (and deservedly so), but can we give it up for ted for putting in a solid second-place effort?

[wild-aloof-rebel]

patrick obviously introduces himself to alexis because he’s polite and that’s what you do when you meet someone new, but there’s def gotta be a part of him that does it hoping to see some spark of recognition on alexis’s face when he says his name, a part of him that’s hoping david has mentioned him, that david hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him the way he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about david

[wild-aloof-rebel]

honestly, chris elliott doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his role in this show. watch his face in the scene where don and bev are insulting him--it’s fucking heartbreaking. yes, roland may sometimes be a bit much, and no of course he isn’t ever going to fit in to the world inhabited by people like don and bev, but it hurts him that these people who don’t even know him are looking down on him like that. 

i know so many people find roland annoying, but just like the roses, he has a good heart underneath his idiosyncrasies, and he genuinely cares about the people around him, and he’s just doing his best in dealing with a situation he didn’t expect to ever be in. that’s all any of them can do.