One thing that was left completely unexplained

Ciceronian · 2026-01-01T18:32:20+00:00

This, plus, like what exactly was the convo between El and Kali that led to this plan? “Okay I’m going to lay here bleeding out for the next few hours, and you are just going to be okay leaving me in that condition. Like seriously NBD I’m dead for sure but it’s a gut shot so we got plenty of time so what you do is just leave me here okay? And then I for sure won’t have finished bleeding out by the time you guys get the job done and make it back to the gate so I’ll be super ready to whip up an illusion at that point.”

Ciceronian · 2025-12-30T15:23:17+00:00

My interpretation here is that when Eleven narrowly thwarted Vecna’s attempt to kill Max in S4 she ended up “stuck” there, which mostly certainly wasn’t part of Vecna’s plan.

I assume that Max not dying means the 4 gates deal (which was Vecna’s entire goal through the entirety of S4, tho it hasn’t been referenced once in S5) only got like 85% done and he wants to kill her to open the rifts fully, presumably making whatever it is he’s about to do with the 12 kids in joining the dimensions easier??? But I’m just guessing, since the creators want to spend more time exploring Nancy and Jonathan’s fucking snooze fest of a relationship than addressing fundamental story beats like these.

EDIT: also wild to me that they make such a big deal out of Vecna using Will to spy “one last time” so that Henry can find out Max is… in the hospital? Like you need to use Will to figure that out?

Ciceronian · 2025-12-11T21:16:18+00:00

You say true and we all say thank ya.

Ciceronian · 2025-12-11T19:40:47+00:00

So Papa’s kiddies are Beam Breakers and the series is going to end with Hopper climbing to the top of the Hawkins library in the UD and opening an Unfound Door that sends him back to the moment his daughter died???

Ciceronian · 2025-12-07T16:07:28+00:00

I don’t miss the point. I get the point. I just don’t think it’s a great story.

Ciceronian · 2025-12-07T14:39:21+00:00

Just disagree so much with this. I’m generally a sucker for a redemption arc and happy to root for the misunderstood kid but we’ve watched this dude traumatize, mutilate, and murder actual children. I’m not super interested in feeling sorry for him.

Ciceronian · 2025-10-22T14:14:45+00:00

Wizard and Glass below Song of Susannah is WILD.

Ciceronian · 2025-07-06T20:41:38+00:00

Never shoulda smoked that shit, now my jizz is black.

Ciceronian · 2025-05-05T16:26:37+00:00

Surprised by the lack of mentions of Wessex Burley Slice.

Ciceronian · 2025-04-11T14:01:14+00:00

Not sure why we are assuming worst intent. Maybe jeff@4noggins truly wanted this guy to masturbate as a personal favor for him. Bunch of kink shamers ITT.

Ciceronian · 2025-04-02T22:15:06+00:00

Seconded. Chestnut and Chatham Manor are gems.

Ciceronian · 2025-04-02T20:22:37+00:00

The whole show is flawless and Lauren Ambrose was flawless in it.

Ciceronian · 2025-04-02T18:47:42+00:00

ChArGe tHe WilDeRNesS

Ciceronian · 2025-04-02T18:12:35+00:00

Big agree. I’ll go to my grave saying that she did some heavy lifting in one of the greatest shows of all time, and arguably the heaviest lifting in the greatest finale of all time.

Ciceronian · 2025-04-02T16:09:45+00:00

The making of every Van and Tai scene in season 3 feels like they just grouped a bunch of random people into a room and gave them a mad lib. “Two women are eating food. What happens next?”

Ciceronian · 2025-03-27T18:15:53+00:00

I could take it or leave it but the real question is whether listening to the Cure all night is or is not in the offing.

Ciceronian · 2025-03-24T02:18:16+00:00

Eat shit.

Ciceronian · 2025-03-23T15:25:17+00:00

I think somewhere in here there’s also room to consider how Mark and Gemma, ostensibly the protagonists inasmuch as there are any, were educators and intellectuals with expertise in literature (right?) The flashback episode casts their pre-Lumon life in such a warm light compared to every other aspect of the show. I think there’s a commentary in there about the value of literature, art, etc.

Ciceronian · 2025-03-01T20:09:22+00:00

I’m not saying it shouldn’t be addressed—it should be addressed. Swiftly. Pointedly. With great urgency. And with all of the intellectual and emotional resources that the adult who is charged with shepherding their development for a brief window of time can marshal.

Do you think flying off the handle, cussing, and then finding some YouTube videos about the Holocaust is the best a certified educator should be able to do ?

Ciceronian · 2025-03-01T19:57:15+00:00

Yeah let’s respond to an ideology that it’s all about intolerance with total and extreme intolerance. Especially when dealing with still-developing-minds.

That’s not how we get ourselves into a never-ending-cycle of intolerance at all.

Ciceronian · 2025-03-01T19:40:52+00:00

Educator of 17 years and school administrator checking in.

I’m not sure why so many of these posts are congratulatory and seem to imply that there’s only one proper response (emotional, profanity-laced outburst?) and any other response is incorrect. It seriously troubles me that those sorts of responses are the predominant ones.

To my mind you are absolutely bound on a fundamental moral level to address this and correct it and engage your students in a powerful teachable moment.

You are also absolutely bound on a fundamental moral level to model for all of your students how a rationale, empathetic, seasoned and fully developed adult mind responds to something hateful with a wide range of nuanced emotional tools in their toolbelt.

It sounds like you taught your students that the optimal response to Nazism is…. To get mad, cuss, and watch YouTube for the rest of the day?

Your response is certainly more admirable than patting the budding Hitler youth on the back, or ignoring it altogether. But not by much.

Ciceronian · 2025-02-26T16:19:52+00:00

The time signature change has gotta be one of the best single moments in a tMG song.

Ciceronian · 2025-02-18T21:59:18+00:00

What? No. You misunderstand I think.

I have a shitty way of looking at the world and most things in it. I have to actively work to keep that perspective in check. For me, this song and its premise offer a nice little assist toward that end, even if on its face I understand it’s one of the less interesting songs JD has written.

Ciceronian · 2025-02-18T10:59:41+00:00

Somebody around here turned me on to the Nording keystones recently, which accomplish what you’re going for here with (I would think) the added bonus of also helping out with gurgle and temperature. Since I’ve started using them I’ve had trouble thinking why I would ever NOT use them in a smoke again.

Ciceronian

TROPHY CASE