Some Thoughts on TV
May. 13th, 2015 09:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee34Big Bang Theory
I thought the season finale was interesting in that they were all dealing with trying to change the nature of one of their relationships: Bernadette and Howie trying to throw out Stuart and failing, Raj wanting to break up with Emily because she makes him uncomfortable but failing to do so (I think because Bernadette and Howard’s little dig about how he would never break up with a girl—implication being that he may never find another date—hits close to home), Penny and Leonard finally moving forward with getting married, and Amy thinking about breaking up while Sheldon is thinking about marriage.
I found the Bernadette/Howie/Stuart subplot funny and the Raj/Emily subplot really sad. I think he’s had such problems connecting with women that he probably truly believes he has to stay with someone who makes him uncomfortable because he has no other options. Or that he can’t even risk having a conversation with her about their relationship at all; maybe they can compromise or make changes to their relationship that are less drastic than breaking up, but he doesn't even entertain that idea.
I found the Penny/Leonard subplot actively annoying. I liked them finally setting a date and just heading for Vegas. I did not like him admitting he kissed some girl years ago while they were dating. Did that actually happen in an episode? I haven’t watched them all, but it seemed to come out of nowhere for me. If it was in an episode and this is actually tying up a loose end they’ve left unresolved for years, it annoys me less. If not, then it seems like unnecessary, manufactured drama.
The Sheldon/Amy subplot was amazingly well done to me. First, we see Sheldon and Amy making out in a way that suggests this is a thing they do with some frequency. He’s also into it (if not as solely focused on her as Amy would like him to be). I think this is solid evidence for my theory that Sheldon is not asexual; he is just extremely anxious about trying new things and moves really slowly.
Given his characterization, it makes perfect sense to me that Sheldon doesn’t understand that your partner finds it rude if you just blurt out every little thing you happen to be thinking of while making out. I mean, most people’s minds wander a bit during intimate situations, and that’s completely normal but utterly bad manners to broadcast. And it makes perfect sense to me that Sheldon wants to marry Amy. He truly loves her and wants her in his life. Jim Parsons knocks it out of the park when Sheldon realizes Amy is breaking up with him. I teared up a little.
On the other hand, I fully understand Amy’s position. The glacial pace that Sheldon is comfortable with is frustrating to her. While we can understand as the outside viewer that Sheldon isn’t deliberately being cruel or neglecting her, he’s still being cruel. I read a fic awhile back where Amy leaves his apartment in tears because he’s so insensitive, and as she turns to go, she says in this defeated voice, “Being with you makes me feel so ugly.” I may have cried a bit then, too. LOL Clearly next season is going to be about them figuring out how to make their relationship work in a way that they’re both comfortable with, and I feel pretty confident they’ll be successful. And clearly Leonard and Penny are going to get married eventually even if they don’t do it immediately in Vegas.
The Following
I have thoroughly enjoyed the run of this show (although the latter seasons don’t achieve the perfection of the first one), and I am thoroughly glad that it is ending next week. Once they killed Joe Carroll, I had a really hard time imagining the direction the show would take, so I’m relieved they’re ending it after a strong season.
I have felt throughout this whole season that the showrunners asked a bunch of Joe Carroll/Ryan Hardy shippers which slash tropes they’d most like to see play out on screen. LOL This is the shippiest, most slash-tastic season of TV I’ve ever seen. I truly expected them to kiss at one point. It was glorious.
Mark has continued to be a joy to watch. He’s utterly out of his mind and so funny. I also like the way he and Daisy interact; their interplay is fun to watch.
Theo surprised me by being super compelling and interesting. I didn’t think they could write another big bad who could hold his own with Joe Carroll, but Theo’s done a nice job.
My predictions/hopes for the ending:
1. Max is alive and Mike is alive.
2. Theo and Daisy disappear off into the sunset.
3. Ryan is out of the FBI. He’s possibly in jail. He’s possibly dead. He’s possibly working on sobriety and trying to be worthy of his kid. It’s been really hard for me to imagine this show ending any other way than with Ryan’s death. If he does die, the last thing he sees is Joe Carroll. If he ends up in prison (because let’s face it, my suspension of disbelief that he wouldn’t get punished for the horrific and egregious abuses of his position is stretched so thin a herd of elephants could get through), the last frame is of him and Joe chilling in his cell.
Penny Dreadful
I have found many things to like about this season: Ethan flirting with Professor Oompa Loompa is quite possibly the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a million years. The opening scene with Sir Malcolm’s wife telling him to fuck the fuck off was amazing. I heartily approve of Madame Kali as the new villain.
But I feel like the seasons lacked a transition. I needed more of a segue from Vanessa smirking at the camera and clearly choosing to stay possessed to her walking in the snow and being beset by witches. Looks like next week is going to be the backstory episode of how she knows about witches, etc., and I think the season would have transitioned more smoothly if that had been the season opener.
I was utterly shocked that they actually depicted the baby sacrifice. It didn’t really upset me because it clearly wasn’t a real baby; pretty sure they deliberately kept it doll-like rather than going for realistic baby to avoid too much audience discomfort. Still, even Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead aren’t depicting baby death onscreen.
Vanessa and Caliban can talk to each other for a whole episode next time as far as I’m concerned and thank all that is unholy that Brona has stopped talking like she has a mouth full of marbles.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
And now for some nostalgia:
SPN
TNT has been replaying the early seasons of SPN every morning, and I had forgotten how *good* those early seasons are. I remember when it first aired, much of the fandom was meh about “Red Sky at Morning,” but I’m watching that episode right now, and it’s so goooood, y’all. Lauren Conrad is so glorious as Bela. She’s one of my favorite characters, and one of the things I have always loved about the show is that they never discovered the truth about her background. Sam and Dean do not truck with children being harmed (at least in the first few seasons, that’s a consistent theme); they would be 100% on her side if they knew her dad had been abusing her and her mother condoning it. But they never find out, and she dies. *sniffle*
I am also struck in watching these early episodes by the difference in the mission. “Saving people, hunting things, the family business.” Remember when Sam and Dean remembered that demons were just hijacking human bodies and they truly tried to save human hosts? Even before I quit watching the show, the way that changed really bothered me. The mission stopped being “saving people” and became entirely “hunting things.” They’ve turned into Gordon.
I am reminded of how the relationship dynamics between them are still interesting in these early seasons; their whole pattern of secrets and lies followed by anger and eventual makeup isn’t cemented yet. It’s not so myopic and claustrophobic and there’s still room for character growth.
At some point I will watch the seasons I’ve missed. I cared enough about the earlier seasons that I do want to see how it all ends. And I know I will find things to like along the way. I’ve caught bits and pieces of episodes and liked them. I just miss how cohesive and strong those first five seasons are.
I thought the season finale was interesting in that they were all dealing with trying to change the nature of one of their relationships: Bernadette and Howie trying to throw out Stuart and failing, Raj wanting to break up with Emily because she makes him uncomfortable but failing to do so (I think because Bernadette and Howard’s little dig about how he would never break up with a girl—implication being that he may never find another date—hits close to home), Penny and Leonard finally moving forward with getting married, and Amy thinking about breaking up while Sheldon is thinking about marriage.
I found the Bernadette/Howie/Stuart subplot funny and the Raj/Emily subplot really sad. I think he’s had such problems connecting with women that he probably truly believes he has to stay with someone who makes him uncomfortable because he has no other options. Or that he can’t even risk having a conversation with her about their relationship at all; maybe they can compromise or make changes to their relationship that are less drastic than breaking up, but he doesn't even entertain that idea.
I found the Penny/Leonard subplot actively annoying. I liked them finally setting a date and just heading for Vegas. I did not like him admitting he kissed some girl years ago while they were dating. Did that actually happen in an episode? I haven’t watched them all, but it seemed to come out of nowhere for me. If it was in an episode and this is actually tying up a loose end they’ve left unresolved for years, it annoys me less. If not, then it seems like unnecessary, manufactured drama.
The Sheldon/Amy subplot was amazingly well done to me. First, we see Sheldon and Amy making out in a way that suggests this is a thing they do with some frequency. He’s also into it (if not as solely focused on her as Amy would like him to be). I think this is solid evidence for my theory that Sheldon is not asexual; he is just extremely anxious about trying new things and moves really slowly.
Given his characterization, it makes perfect sense to me that Sheldon doesn’t understand that your partner finds it rude if you just blurt out every little thing you happen to be thinking of while making out. I mean, most people’s minds wander a bit during intimate situations, and that’s completely normal but utterly bad manners to broadcast. And it makes perfect sense to me that Sheldon wants to marry Amy. He truly loves her and wants her in his life. Jim Parsons knocks it out of the park when Sheldon realizes Amy is breaking up with him. I teared up a little.
On the other hand, I fully understand Amy’s position. The glacial pace that Sheldon is comfortable with is frustrating to her. While we can understand as the outside viewer that Sheldon isn’t deliberately being cruel or neglecting her, he’s still being cruel. I read a fic awhile back where Amy leaves his apartment in tears because he’s so insensitive, and as she turns to go, she says in this defeated voice, “Being with you makes me feel so ugly.” I may have cried a bit then, too. LOL Clearly next season is going to be about them figuring out how to make their relationship work in a way that they’re both comfortable with, and I feel pretty confident they’ll be successful. And clearly Leonard and Penny are going to get married eventually even if they don’t do it immediately in Vegas.
The Following
I have thoroughly enjoyed the run of this show (although the latter seasons don’t achieve the perfection of the first one), and I am thoroughly glad that it is ending next week. Once they killed Joe Carroll, I had a really hard time imagining the direction the show would take, so I’m relieved they’re ending it after a strong season.
I have felt throughout this whole season that the showrunners asked a bunch of Joe Carroll/Ryan Hardy shippers which slash tropes they’d most like to see play out on screen. LOL This is the shippiest, most slash-tastic season of TV I’ve ever seen. I truly expected them to kiss at one point. It was glorious.
Mark has continued to be a joy to watch. He’s utterly out of his mind and so funny. I also like the way he and Daisy interact; their interplay is fun to watch.
Theo surprised me by being super compelling and interesting. I didn’t think they could write another big bad who could hold his own with Joe Carroll, but Theo’s done a nice job.
My predictions/hopes for the ending:
1. Max is alive and Mike is alive.
2. Theo and Daisy disappear off into the sunset.
3. Ryan is out of the FBI. He’s possibly in jail. He’s possibly dead. He’s possibly working on sobriety and trying to be worthy of his kid. It’s been really hard for me to imagine this show ending any other way than with Ryan’s death. If he does die, the last thing he sees is Joe Carroll. If he ends up in prison (because let’s face it, my suspension of disbelief that he wouldn’t get punished for the horrific and egregious abuses of his position is stretched so thin a herd of elephants could get through), the last frame is of him and Joe chilling in his cell.
Penny Dreadful
I have found many things to like about this season: Ethan flirting with Professor Oompa Loompa is quite possibly the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a million years. The opening scene with Sir Malcolm’s wife telling him to fuck the fuck off was amazing. I heartily approve of Madame Kali as the new villain.
But I feel like the seasons lacked a transition. I needed more of a segue from Vanessa smirking at the camera and clearly choosing to stay possessed to her walking in the snow and being beset by witches. Looks like next week is going to be the backstory episode of how she knows about witches, etc., and I think the season would have transitioned more smoothly if that had been the season opener.
I was utterly shocked that they actually depicted the baby sacrifice. It didn’t really upset me because it clearly wasn’t a real baby; pretty sure they deliberately kept it doll-like rather than going for realistic baby to avoid too much audience discomfort. Still, even Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead aren’t depicting baby death onscreen.
Vanessa and Caliban can talk to each other for a whole episode next time as far as I’m concerned and thank all that is unholy that Brona has stopped talking like she has a mouth full of marbles.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
And now for some nostalgia:
SPN
TNT has been replaying the early seasons of SPN every morning, and I had forgotten how *good* those early seasons are. I remember when it first aired, much of the fandom was meh about “Red Sky at Morning,” but I’m watching that episode right now, and it’s so goooood, y’all. Lauren Conrad is so glorious as Bela. She’s one of my favorite characters, and one of the things I have always loved about the show is that they never discovered the truth about her background. Sam and Dean do not truck with children being harmed (at least in the first few seasons, that’s a consistent theme); they would be 100% on her side if they knew her dad had been abusing her and her mother condoning it. But they never find out, and she dies. *sniffle*
I am also struck in watching these early episodes by the difference in the mission. “Saving people, hunting things, the family business.” Remember when Sam and Dean remembered that demons were just hijacking human bodies and they truly tried to save human hosts? Even before I quit watching the show, the way that changed really bothered me. The mission stopped being “saving people” and became entirely “hunting things.” They’ve turned into Gordon.
I am reminded of how the relationship dynamics between them are still interesting in these early seasons; their whole pattern of secrets and lies followed by anger and eventual makeup isn’t cemented yet. It’s not so myopic and claustrophobic and there’s still room for character growth.
At some point I will watch the seasons I’ve missed. I cared enough about the earlier seasons that I do want to see how it all ends. And I know I will find things to like along the way. I’ve caught bits and pieces of episodes and liked them. I just miss how cohesive and strong those first five seasons are.
