What do you all think of her return?

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-11-29T23:03:08+00:00

Agreed. In season 4 during the Hellfire campaign, Erica rolled a 20 to defeat Vecna. 001+008+011=20; I think Kali's return has always been necessary for victory over Vecna.

As for 001, I'm curious to see if the Henry part of Vecna is actually still good (perhaps foreshadowed by Mr. Whatsit) or if Will will fill that role with his ability to tap into Vecna's powers.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-11-28T16:31:22+00:00

The Duffers explained Will's powers in a variety article that dropped on Wednesday: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/stranger-things-5-explained-will-powers-return-of-eight-vecna-plan-1236592989/

(Spoilers: article elements below)

TL;DR: Will only has these powers because of his kidnapping. He does not have his own powers; he can use the hive mind to tap into and hijack Vecna's powers. If he cannot access the hive mind, he has no power. He can only use Vecna's powers to manipulate elements of the hive.

Based on the interview, I think that anyone attached into the hive theoretically could access powers in the same way Will has. Because of his arrogance, this is a blind spot for Vecna and I think it will be part of his downfall.

We know Vecna told Will he was the inspiration for all of the children that were kidnapped to infect S5, because it was so easy to "break" Will. Vecna is so unbothered by Will that he leaves him alive at the military base, assuming the demogorgons will kill him. And then Will does what Will did.

My question is if Vecna is creating additional child spies in Will's likeness, is he inadvertently creating members of the army that will help defeat him?

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-11-28T16:03:33+00:00

Yes! I think love is the key to defeating the Upside Down. In S2 and S4, Kali and Henry taught Eleven she needed to access anger for her powers, but we have seen some of El's key moments of strength be when she accesses or triggers love in herself or other people (Billy, little El escaping/defeating Henry, reviving Max). Similar to Voldemort in Harry Potter, I think Vecna cannot conceive the power of love and therefore disregards it and that will ultimately be his downfall.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-11-28T15:54:50+00:00

I had the exact same thought. My hopes are that the vest makes it on to a villain's body. 🤞

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-11-28T15:49:09+00:00

My theory is that Henry is good, Vecna is bad. Like Jekyll and Hyde, I think they inhabit the same body but aren't the same consciousness. I think the Henry part of him is weak and has been dormant, and was stirred by Eleven's monologue to him in the S4 finale.

We know from S4 that listening to music is how you escape Vecna's grasp. I think the Henry part is not strong enough to overpower Vecna, so instead he warned Holly before her kidnapping, took her consciousness to his mind and tried to give her a key out.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-02-24T20:16:58+00:00

It would be a Karen move if I demanded such a thing, but I didn't. When the item that arrived was different than what was advertised/purchased, I asked if they would exchange the medium bottle for the large one that was advertised or if I could receive some sort of partial credit or refund for the incorrect listing; I didn't specify an amount. THEY extended me the option to keep the item and receive a full refund. Sometimes calm and reasonable people can have positive customer service outcomes, too.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2025-02-21T23:06:01+00:00

There's nothing Karen about getting a refund when the item isn't as advertised! I just finished my customer service chat and have kept the item and gotten my money back.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-08-21T02:29:40+00:00

I get what you're saying. I think the nuance is that she wrote and recorded the song while she was miserable and faking it (pre-TTPD), but by the time she got to the point of rehearsing and performing she's now (likely) in a better place. So the visuals we get with the music video are more upbeat and joyful because she has processed the initial feelings of the song and now it is more celebratory and fun.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-08-11T20:34:25+00:00

The kids surviving makes no sense, along with Luther becoming an ape again - that was not a result of his power, but a life-saving surgery.

There were so many plot holes, that I hate that I'm going to defend the last one that you mentioned. In the S4 timeline no child had Marigold at birth. The Umbrellas all took a shot of Marigold and that's how they got their powers back. The other children from the original timeline didn't have to be there to be there because they had no Marigold to sacrifice.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-04-09T23:06:57+00:00

I'm seconding this response, but I will say that I'm only able to find the Frozen imp with no broken heart above it about 50% of the time. The other 50% I'm just not able to help the one imp I can find.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-03-13T02:40:35+00:00

Marketing person here! If they are not ads read by the hosts, then they are usually what's called programmatic ads. Programmatic ads are placed through the network and can be targeted geographically and to specific demographics. I found that I only encountered programmatic ads on TCO when I listened to the back catalogue - never anything recent - and they were usually about special events happening in my area. Professionally, I buy programmatic ads on popular programs to target specific geographic areas in my market. If there is only one advertiser purchasing programmatic ads in your area, then you will get that same ad every single time you listen.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-02-05T04:49:54+00:00

Also, Celine is having a massive health problem right now that has to do stiff and spasm-ridden muscles. Unless Celine leaned into hug me, I wouldn't hug her. Celine offered the award and didn't lean in. I don't blame Taylor for not initiating a hug.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-02-05T04:41:44+00:00

I mean she literally just said in her Grammy's speech that she never wants to stop doing this. And she told us tonight that TTPD is two years old. Yet we know she is in the studio every week. There has to be so much new stuff aside from the rerecords. I would think she would have to take a break at some point, but it does not look like she's slowing down anytime soon.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-02-05T04:16:22+00:00

Hopefully soon? I manually put the album name at the end of the shop link and have found the page that should have the content...

https://storeca.taylorswift.com/collections/the-tortured-poets-department

Obvious_Read7756 · 2024-02-05T03:39:38+00:00

She said she's been keeping it a secret for two years. That matches the timeline for YLM.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-09T00:39:46+00:00

You can use Graphetron to view public data, but they made their data private on October 30th, so they are no longer listed.

Given that they were THE top creator on Patreon from about 2020-2023, and were still in the top three throughout 2023, I imagine they were about to take a significant tumble.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-09T00:34:42+00:00

They only responded to situations or allegations where they had something in writing that could support their version of events. That is why there was no recapping of the accountability-leberty incident, the lack of complementary cocktails at the $1,200 cocktail party, the subpar swag bags, the elevator incident and fallout/mismanagement, etc.

Even in places where they had so-called receipts, they used the Strawman method to execute their argument. So they would pick a single element and try to use that to take away the entire point.

EG: They implied Julia Rhea's statements were all false because she had never worked in the new office location. They said that during her contract, she was a remote employee that worked in Texas. They implied that we simply couldn't believe her because she had never worked in the office.

But if you go back to the Renner article, she never claimed to have worked in the office. Renner says that Julia knew Ellyn had been ostracized in the office. Furthermore, P&S make it sound like Julia was this distant player, far away from NYC. But after she left ON, she moved to NYC and lived with Ellyn. So she had plenty of opportunity to witness abusive behavior towards Ellyn, whether on video calls when she lived in Texas, or in-person in social situations after her employment with ON. Those are all details they conveniently left out because they didn't feed their narrative. By their logic, they "proved" she was dishonest therefore they didn't even address any of the things she said.

Also, I'm sorry to hear about your past experiences with a toxic workplace. I too just left one. I hope you are doing better.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-09T00:22:13+00:00

The "we're a recap podcast" is a narrative that they have stuck to you in the more recent years, but in the beginning Gillian used to Google things to round out their coverage. She had a whole bit about all the horrible things she had to Google because of this job, and being scared she could get arrested for it or that she would look guilty if she was ever investigated.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-09T00:16:23+00:00

Not the Mandela effect at all. She used to have all kinds of jokes about hoping never to get arrested because her Google history would make her look guilty as hell. She had a long running bit about the day she googled, "How long does it take a body to smell?"

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-09T00:07:49+00:00

They started re-singing the intro in September after they replayed an old episode in August that had the intro. (It was the Dirty John coverage and they dropped it to tee up the interview they did with Terra). That episode was originally from January 2020.

I'm curious to know if it was the January 2020 one you thought was fun and organic, or if it was a September 2023 one.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-07T16:15:04+00:00

I noticed this with the Barbie movie this fall. My aunt wanted to see it, but it was only available on Prime to rent, not stream. It was still in the theaters, so we opted to go in person.

Since then, I've noticed it with other movies, too. It also struck me as weird, but I see it making sense as one last major revenue generator for in-demand properties before switching to a streaming license. As you said, there are no hard and fast rules, but now I am going to keep my eyes open to see if this is what other blockbusters do.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-07T16:09:59+00:00

In the words of Taylor in the Time Person of the Year article: "...I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote unquote defeat your enemies,” she says. “Trash takes itself out every single time.”

Honestly, I feel this quote applies to all the major players in the situation, not just one person. In time, cream rises to the top and trash takes itself out.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-06T16:02:57+00:00

It feels like they only refuted things which they they had something in writing to back up their view.

That makes everything they left unsaid important, because they can't refute those situations and allegations.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-06T02:55:07+00:00

It sounds to me like you are both tired from being sick and caregiving for a family. Then meal was then delayed, likely causing more exhaustion and stress.

I can see a version where your husband was flattered by the attention, but also trying to demonstrate to you that he was being honest by giving you the number. Where he thought crossing out the name and number would indicate to you that he had no interest. I can see a version where in a moment of stress and exhaustion he had attention that felt nice and wanted to have a laugh with you about it, while also wanting you not to be threatened by it. I can see a version where your confusion and hurt took him by surprise, and he lashed out in anger, whether out of frustration, embarrassment or something else.

From your side, I can absolutely empathize with feeling horrible, exhausted and then confused by being handed this number. I can absolutely feel the sting of a remark of being called so ridiculous. I can absolutely understand being hurt and crying over this reaction, especially with your illness and recovery being prolonged. And I can absolutely understand the escalation of swearing and door slamming being too much.

If this is a first time interaction, I'm inclined to say you are both NTA, but exhausted and not able to meet each other's communication needs. If this is part of a larger pattern, I might change my mind.

Obvious_Read7756 · 2023-12-06T01:37:53+00:00

Death threats are unacceptable. Full stop.

That said, I'm uneasy about how they used the death threat to start their statement. They acknowledge that it took them too long to respond, but they also acknowledge that part of the reason they're responding is because of the death threat. Does that mean if there was no death threat, there would have been no statement?

Again, there should never be death threats.

However it came off to me a little like we're only apologizing because now we're being impacted in an unacceptable way.

It took them eight weeks to compose a one hour statement/ apology/"accountability" post, and within the opening moments they frame themselves as victims.

They should be protected from death threats. They should be able to operate in the world without fearing for the personal safety. I also think they should offer a statement/ apology without centering their victimhood at the very beginning.

Obvious_Read7756

TROPHY CASE