#tts rewatch

[picturejasper20]

While i do like Varian as character, i do much prefer Cassandra betraying Rapunzel and becoming a main antagonist because there is a lot more build up and the change to that decision feels a lot more gradual in contrast to Varian becoming the antagonist in season 1 in over the course of just one episode.

With Varian, he had only two episodes he shows up before he turns against Rapunzel and he doesn't have a strong connection to her aside from seeing each other a few times. In comparison Cassandra is a character we know since day one and has known Rapunzel for years and she is one of her best friends, so, when she betrays the hero team, it has a lot more impact from a narrative point and emotionally for the characters involved.

[bananaphone---t]

I just rewatched Be Very Afraid, and while there are some really good parts that I still enjoy, there are others that left me unsatisfied. (Under the cut)

To start, I'll say the parts that I can give credit where credit is due.

They did a really good job showing just how overwhelming and draining fear can be.

Fear really can stop you in your tracks, and can take over if you allow it to become you (as seen with the "frozen permanently" suggests, at least to me).

As someone who suffers from chronic anxiety (to the point of being treated and in therapy for it), the message of this episode hit me hard.

Speaking of this...

I love how the writers handled Varian.

I love that they showed the fact that he's still struggling with what happened to his father and the fact it made him turn evil. And that despite the fact it's all in the past and that everyone has seemingly forgiven him, the fear will remain, especially if he doesn't face it head-on.

On another note; LANCE. GETTING. A FUCKING. SOLO.

James Monroe Iglehart getting to show off his singing chops is one of my absolute favorite parts of this episode.

Whenever I watch this one and he begins singing, I'm just screaming happily that they finally just let him go off and show everyone why he belongs not only on this show but also as a freaking Broadway actor (*cough* kinda like Jeremy Jordan *cough*).

Okay... So here's where we run into where I was, and still am, dissatisfied with this episode...

While I enjoy most of this episode, I wasn't really happy with both Rapunzel and Eugene's fears... Specifically, Rapunzel's, as I've slowly started to make a bit more logical sense of Eugene's.

Throughout the entire episode (both watching it the first time and recently), I was expecting her fear to be of Gothel's return, sort of similar to her dream in What The Hair?!. Or her seeing Eugene's death again. Or some sad, heart-crushing combination of both.

Unfortunately for me, it was none of the above, and, instead, it was her losing Cass and seeing Corona in flames...

While I can see that to be a valid fear of Rapunzel's, I just can't see it as her worst fear.

This may just be me nitpicking at this point (and could also come across as me not liking Cass as a character, but that's a post for another time), but I also didn't like that they copied a lot of things from the movie, to be mirrored into being with Cass, in Rapunzel Day One.

Events like that, what happens in BVA, and her holding Cass in her arms while a tear falls in Plus Est En Vous, kind of annoy me... I feel like it affects the impact of what Eugene did for her, and the fact that those moments were supposed to be sort of... special between them, I guess?

With Flynnposter I can let it slide (sounds biased since I love said episode), because of the obvious implications of not only the name of the episode but the actual happenings in it as well; Brock is pretending to be Flynn Rider (and, in turn, pretending to be Eugene).

I just think that using Cass as Rapunzel's worst fear just because of their relationship at that point, and the fact that Cass essentially had the same fear, was just a cheap way of showing that Cass could still be saved.

Overall, despite all my nitpicking and dislike of certain parts, this episode is still one of my favorites. And even though I don't like certain parts, in a way, that's kind of a good thing. It leaves more room for freeform with fics. 💕

[gottagetmeoneofthese]

Eugene Fitzherbert, murdering me just by saying his name.

[tangledts-is-wonderful]

Just throwing this into the void because I can’t talk about her out loud irl like I want to

[sunshine-princess-of-corona]

Rewatching Tangled (2010) after having seen TtS all the way through is WILD. Bc the ending/epilogue section is happening, and Eugene says, “she led her kingdom with all the wisdom and grace that her parents did before her.” Which sounds all well & good until you realize that THAT IS A REALLY LOW BAR considering that Fred’s reign included:

- Eugene being sentenced TO HANG for various acts of theft (including stealing the princess’ crown).

- Dealing with the black rocks by basically going “maybe if we ignore them they’ll go away.”

-After promising to get him help, he throws Varian, a 14-year-old, who has a lot of animosity towards the kingdom and its rulers, in the same prison cell as Andrew, a full-grown adult, who wants to overthrow the kingdom. BECAUSE THAT’S A FOOLPROOF WAY TO DECREASE THE KID’S ANIMOSITY. NO WAY THAT COULD GO WRONG.

- Later, his kingdom is overthrown by a 15-year-old (I don’t know about the other Saporians, but Andrew was clearly not the brains of that operation so....)

- I vaguely remember some backstory in which Fred chose to put his family over his subjects. Which is... not exactly a great quality in a ruler...??

I’m sure Rapunzel was a great queen. I’m just saying that, in terms of being a great ruler, it wouldn’t exactly be hard to surpass Fred.

[gottagetmeoneofthese]

And she practically tackles him again AHHH I didn’t know how much I needed that in my life

[gottagetmeoneofthese]

So I really liked the idea that Eugene’s parents sent the Flynnigan Rider books with him to the orphanage. I loved it, even, until I first saw Return of the King.

So Edmund has a stack of wanted posters and the Flynn Rider book. (Maybe others in the series now, but this book would be more treasured because it belonged to his Horace.) And he would know it’s his son’s favorite book because he took on the name and the book was probably well worn before he dropped it off the cliff.

So imagining Edmund reading the book over and over again, and then the others in the series, so many times, almost hurts. Because he’s desperate to know any part of his son that he sends crows to gather anything they can. (Though I wonder if they started doing it on their own, to cheer him up? It’s implied they were only sent to watch him at first.)

During those years when Eugene knew no one loved him was a man slowly losing his mind from loneliness. When Eugene thought he was alone in the world there was a guy trying to get to know him through his favorite toys and then, later, his favorite book series.

[gottagetmeoneofthese]

-ugly sobbing- I’m fine.