#thefandomcritique

[elliot-olivia]

Hey, Am I right that L&O Organised Crime picks up where SVU season 22 leaves off, or should I be watching them interspliced in some way? Thanks so much! I've spent the last few weeks marathoning SVU from the very beginning. I'd never watched the seasons after Elliot left and was (mostly) pleasantly surprised.

hey!! so oc s1 runs alongside s22 -- watch 22.09 before watching 1.1 of oc, and svu 22.13 & oc 1.5 are a crossover that should be watched in conjunction with each other (with svu coming first). season two of oc time jumps and technically oc 1.8 takes place after the first fifteen or so minutes of svu 23.01, but you don’t have to watch it like that. the timeline got a bit messy since M broke her ankle irl but one of my previous posts lays out the s23/s2 timeline & the showrunner confirmed it, so hopefully it clears things up djsjs

the way it aired was 22.09 - 1.1 / 22.10 - 1.2 / 22.11 - 1.3 / 22.12 - 1.4 / 22.13 - 1.5 / 22.14 - 1.6 / 22.15 - 1.7 / 22.16 - 1.8, which is the way i watched it and is probably a good way to go, but you don’t necessarily have to.

[ettadunham]

thefandomcritique replied to your post “WAKE ME UP INSIDE”I’d laugh but that episode is DEVASTATING....

I’d laugh but that episode is DEVASTATING. Despite, y’know, the weird baby monster.

To be honest, even the baby monster worked for me, it was creepy and sleazy, and the whole thing just broke my heart. (Hence why I needed to make the joke to laugh through the pain 😅)

thefandomcritique replied to your post “magnificent”I am very fond of Revenging Angel though I do take...

I am very fond of Revenging Angel though I do take the point of some that as an exploration of head-trauma and near-death experiences at the hand of your best friend, it does push the "silly" envelope a bit far.

Huh, I had no idea that this was a discourse, for what it's worth, I enjoyed the ep too. I think I let go of the whole always-taking-traumatic-events-seriously-thing around Crackers - there's this one scene there with Crichton and Chiana that... was a bit much to me if I'm being honest, even if they played it off later with an 'oh, she's not bothered by it'. Even beyond that, I thought that this ep worked as John purposely avoiding the severity of his situation through the whole cartoon angle.

thefandomcritique replied to your post “i'm also just impressed with how long they're...”Yeah there was a lot of commentary about that at...

Yeah there was a lot of commentary about that at the time. Week on week it was a weird experience but the comparisons were interesting. I remember someone saying that on the Moya side it felt too much like Pilot was babysitting the kids. I dunno I liked how it went. It worked well and explored different aspects of the characters. Loved the development / deepening of the buddy dynamic between D’Argo and John. But there was a lot of silliness too. More than even usual with Farscape.

I liked the balance too, there were some relatively lighter episodes on the Talyn side too (e.g.: Meltdown), but they really let loose on the Moya side, and I quite enjoyed that (especially after some of the heavier episodes). But it's probably different binging it now than it was watching it week for week, hence why I'm impressed that they just went for it at the time. (Although I imagine that there were probably mainly technical/cost reasons for it, I'd be interested to read up on what was the background on this later.)

thefandomcritique replied to your post “i knew they were gonna kill that version, i...”Yeah, it was predictable, but tragic. And JESUS...

Yeah, it was predictable, but tragic. And JESUS his death scene in AMAZING.

I kept expecting them to bring up the other John, and they didn't, they made sure that the tragedy of it landed wholly, and it sure did!!

thefandomcritique replied to your post “i miss zhaan 😟”Totally. Zhaan's absence is always felt. ALWAYS.

Totally. Zhaan's absence is always felt. ALWAYS.

😘🌼 for Zhaan :(

thefandomcritique replied to your post “if i ever met aeryn sun i'd do nothing but love...”Love, cherish, worship - it's what she deserves

Love, cherish, worship - it's what she deserves

[isagrimorie]

@fuckyeahpikacha replied to your post “isagrimorie: I am watching Mulan 2020 right now and…. boy is it...”

oh wait, but that's kinda spoilers, so watch it after you finish Mulan?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_USHuhOqyk

Ooof. I don’t even have a problem about scaling walls nor the one about jumping high because that’s just part of Wuxia. 

But almost everything else, yeah. Oof. 

@thefandomcritique replied to your post “I am watching Mulan 2020 right now and…. boy is it confusing. ...”

You might be interested in: https:// www. theguardian .com /film/2020/sep/07/mulan-disney-live-action-remake-hong-kong-china

Sigh. Basically yes, and more reasons why I didn’t really pay the Disney tax. 

@anabsolutebrick​ replied to your post “@anabsolutebrick replied to your post “I am watching Mulan 2020...”

Also there's been like a fair amount of Chinese-based Mulan TV shows and films, and it's always been just oh hey, they know martial arts (wu gong), hence they definitely know qing gong. And the idea is the better you are, the better your qing gong is. Isn't that a better idea. Anyw, don't get me ranting on how qing gong is SO MUCH better than fucking chi.

I agree! It’s already right there in their faces, why they needed to have magical ‘Chi’ powers when qing gong is right there and it’s a skill. It also watered down Mulan as a character. 

@sapphichymns replied to your post“I am watching Mulan 2020 right now and…. boy is it confusing. ...”

I feel the Chi was the only thing the writers could think to justify why they can run on walls. Would be better if they just went with the classic suspension of disbelief.

But it’s just plain wrong and also ffs it’s a movie, having a few running up walls things they can just chalk up to martial arts skill or as @anabsolutebrick​ mentions qing gong is Right. There. which is kind of like parkour. 

Also as the guardian review linked in this post, this is what Chi/Qi is: 

Perhaps most jarring is the decision made by the film’s four credited screenwriters to strip our heroine of any flaws, bestowing her instead with a mystical “force”. To do this they repurpose an element of Chinese culture known as Qi, which translates as “breath” or “air”. Philosophers describe it as a type of energy or living metabolism in all beings – though not a special, individual power. 

This is what happens when everyone in the production team is WHITE. US-Centric White People. Representation shouldn’t just stop at casting the actor but also hiring the people who can help people make the story culturally relevant. 

[scarlett-harker]

Completely agree about episode 3x03! Looking forward to more like this - they're bringing in Dracula in season 4 apparently, so hoping for more flashbacks / time travel. I was really sorry to lose Scarlet and really sorry for Missy Peregrym getting sucked into that BORING Dick Wolf show instead of getting to play a badass vampire killing ninja assasin forever, but I know it was probably the right career move for her. And a lot of money. And it was a good death, thank god!

im gonna be honest, i havent been active on this blog for so long because i accidentally stopped watching and then i heard scarlet died and noped the hell out but im glad to hear that some people are still enjoying the blog while its on hiatus and that i might actually watch again cos scarlet’s death wasnt bad

[veralorraine]

It's because of you, Kiera. You made a better world, Kiera. We thought you died that day. Carlos, Julian, and I dedicated ourselves to building a better future. And we steered civilization inspired by your sacrifice. This is the price for making the world a better place. This Sam will grow up in a world free of violence, free of revolution, free of corruption. His future is bright. And it's because of you, Kiera.

[starcitysirens]

So.. many... questions...! I found this blog first when looking for all things Sara Lance and then I found your Hellcanary fic when I was looking for any Sara Lance x John Constantine fic (there are surprisingly few) and now I'm trawling through your whole blog again, looking for all things Sara Lance. Again. So what do you like about LoT and what do you hate about LoT? And what do you like about what they've done with Sara and what do you hate? What are your hopes/fears for the future?

Hey there! Ah, Hellcanary, the mother of all rarepairs. I’ve accepted the responsibility of providing us all with content. That’s the crap part about liking rare pairs, you have provide your own fics and gifs. That fic had a really good response (the most comments I’ve ever gotten on a one-short in this fandom) so I definitely want to continue writing them. I have like 4 things for them I’m at various stages of writing. We’ll see which one actually turns into a story.

And now for the heavy stuff. I’m going to keep it as brief as I can because I could keep going for a long time. What I love about Lot is the ‘found family’ theme that is central to the show. That all these people were broken in some ways and they came together and they found strength in each other. But what I’ve liked about it is that they didn’t stop being broken, love didn’t ‘fix them’. And yes, I like the humor and the crazy but I like it when it’s balanced. There’s a difference between not taking yourself too seriously and making yourself the butt of the joke, and I feel like season 3 got way too close to the last one.

My general issue with this season is that most of it does not feel earned.I understand this isn’t the popular fandom opinion right now, but this show just feels really shallow to me right now. In their quest to be funnier and crazier, they’ve sacrificed a lot of the heart and so the moments they want me to be emotional about just leave me feeling empty. It’s really hard for me, as a writer, to watch this show and not see all the gaping plot holes all over the place.

I stopped trusting the show the moment they killed Stein off in the manner they did, and then wrote Jax off and never mentioned him again. And I know Rip isn’t a super popular character but I’ve yet to understand the narrative purpose of anything that they did with him this season. My fear is that next season they’ll try to go even crazier and reach the point of no return, because they’re at the tipping point where the characters are starting to feel like parodies of themselves. Comedy and good character development are not mutually exclusive things, so figure it out writers.

And for Sara, I’m sort of in the same place. I really loved her character arc through seasons one and two, from fighting her bloodlust, to her grief over Laurel and then all coming to that moment when she’s holding the Spear and accepting all her past trauma, understanding that everything that happened made her, and finding strength in that, I thought that was very powerful. But then I feel like they undermined that this season with the whole death totem/i am death/i don’t deserve love bullshit. It felt tacked on there in the service of the romantic storyline they gave her. I’ve just felt like her characterization has been flip flopping all over the place to fit whatever thing they want to pay off in the episode. I still love her, she’s still my fave, but I am frustrated by this.

But what has disappointed me the most this season regarding Sara is how isolated from the team and the missions she is. What I loved about Sara as a leader (and even before, in season one) is that she really was the glue holding everyone together. She was always the one to talk people through their problems and we haven’t seen her do that much this season. And she was always the type of captain who was in there in the thick of the mission with her team. She was rarely in the field at all this season. I feel like they just have her stand there at the console and bark orders at people and that’s it. That’s her leadership style now. I understand they wanted to give her a romance this season, and I was really excited about it before the season started, but I just wish they’d found a way to tell that story without sacrificing other parts. Again, unpopular opinion but I’m not going to apologize for not liking something.

For next season, I want them to dial everything back a bit and focus on what makes the show great: the character dynamics. And also, I don’t want them to fuck up John Constantine too badly. 

Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough. I’m not sure how much sense this made. Feel free to send follow ups and I’ll reply privately <3

[ettadunham]

arthurwilde replied to your post “ihwwsm - i hate walter white so much”

he just sucks so bad

thefandomcritique replied to your post “ihwwsm - i hate walter white so much”

I'm really enjoying your commentary. I think I made it through the first season of Breaking Bad... but, like you, I disliked Walter from the start and I ESPECIALLY disliked the way the narrative seemed to support his shtick of "woe is me! my life is so tough! I have a gorgeous wife and a nice son and lovely house with a swimming pool! I'm so pathetic!" Dude, get over yourself.

i will say this for the show: it very much knows what it's doing. the whole message of 'toxic masculinity will fuck you up and hurt everyone around you' is not subtle, and only ramps up more and more as the show goes on. (rn i'm at s5, and i think at this point even the thickest in the audience is very much supposed to understand that walter is the bad guy. they especially hammer this home when it comes to his relationship with skyler, which is just straight up abusive, and that's further emphasized by the camera focusing on her perspective in their scenes.)

that being said, the truth of the matter is that antihero stories are popular because the audience sees themselves in the flawed protagonist and cheers them on. and it's very hard to sympathize with walter from the get go if you don't connect to his obsession with his fragile masculinity - not to mention that it begs the question of just how self-aware the audience who do relate to him gets.

it's an interesting discussion, because i do think that the show's intent and themes are worth exploring, but it's hard to ignore that the show's popularity was likely helped by people who related a bit too much to what was being criticized.

[isagrimorie]

 @thefandomcritiquereplied to your post “does anyone know where i can find a farscape vid “holding out for a...”

Is this a thing you know exists or a thing that you want to exist :P ?

heee yes, it existed, I think it was one of the first farscape vids i viewed! a really fun vid with aeryn as ‘the hero’ of the vid.