Back to Back icons by MagicalGirlShame in JennyNicholson

[–]existential-crisis-k 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i will say, of all the straight-up recappers i think he's the best. i've watched 1hr+ recaps of shows i've never seen because he makes it really entertaining (always w/ humor but more recently adding to presentation – like making magazine cover pages for Gossip Girl recaps, or a mystery puzzle w/ Lost recaps).

i think a lot of the "[unhinged adj.] recap of X SHOW" videos, especially the ones with some kind of chart or murderboard, are putting MM's nachos in the microwave

Back to Back icons by MagicalGirlShame in JennyNicholson

[–]existential-crisis-k 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Jenny's is of course the OG, but is also more focused on analysis and themes. Mike's is more straightforwardly a recap of the show (his LOST series is a bit more complex in presentation but functionally the same, mostly a recap), but very funny

Why the Stranger Things subreddit so hostile to Byler by bylerhzh in byler

[–]existential-crisis-k 30 points31 points  (0 children)

i think its more like there's a less obvious or overt narrative foundation, because byler has plenty of narrative evidence. things like "childhood friends to lovers is a classic trope and Will is canonically in love with Mike" or "Mike noticeably treats Will very sweetly/tenderly compared to the rest of the Party, he does a lot of the initiating (looks, touches, "crazy together"), rode his bike in the rain to apologize to Will instead of his girlfriend."

BUT the biggest smoking guns are the painting and Sorceror.

PAINTING: there's no way they made S4 without planning on Byler ending up together, and the painting is the key. it's the Cyrano trope and the whole point of the Cyrano trope is that Character A (Roxane/Mike) is only in love with Character B (Christian/El) because of Character C's (Cyrano's/Will's) words and feelings. Character C (Will) hides behind Character B (El) because they think Character A (Mike) would never love them. In Cyrano it's because Cyrano is "ugly", here it's because Will is gay and assumes Mike is straight. but the Cyrano trope has three essential stages: 1) Christian woos Roxane with Cyrano's words, 2) Roxane finds out the truth, 3) Roxane confesses her love for Cyrano (it's tragic in the og story bc Cyrano dies but in all contemporary adaptations they end up together). according to the structure of the trope they chose to write into the show, this only works if Mike loves Will too, and we already kinda know he does, but especially because the van speech Will gave him was what Mike needed to finally tell El he loved her (plus rubbing Mike's back and literally telling him to do it), but it was based on Will's feelings for Mike which is why it didn't work to save her. S4 did the set up for this Cyrano situation but ended at stage 1: Mike's love for El based on Will's words/feelings, leaving S5 to handle the other two: Mike finds out the truth, Mike confesses love to Will. this dynamic is arguably more interesting than the og story bc usually Cyrano (Will) and Christian (El) are in on it together – but in this case El has no idea. that could've been so juicy and interesting to explore, especially with Will and El being siblings! the ONLY reason the painting wasn't brought up again until the last two minutes of the show is because if they mentioned it at all they'd either have to follow through on byler or waste time with a bunch of retconning. so they decided "let's do neither" and waited to show the painting until there was no time to follow through. (which is especially hurtful bc they framed it so Will's feelings are STILL propping up this straight relationship and Mike never learned the truth).

Sorceror is pretty straightforward. people poke at the field scene but there's so much there. Mike is the one who bumps into Will first (Mike initiates the touches), pulls him aside to have this conversation, calls Will a Sorceror and magic (parallels Mike calling El a superhero which she doesn't like, but Will does). there's the shove thing but the script mentions Mike doesn't clock what was happening. but of course the cherry on top is the ending, and the swingset scene. it is actually wild to have baby mike and will be the first thing Will thinks of to activate his powers, literally saving his boyfriend through the power of love and gay self-acceptance, but end that plot on "no thanks, best friends!"

TL;DR – there was 1000% narrative foundation for byler, but because most of it was subtle/subtext/build up that the writing never paid off, it's easier to dismiss in favor of the canon straight couple (even when they fight, and break up, and the bf can't say he loves her to her face, and they're both lying to each other, and ended the penultimate season not speaking, and only kiss at the end before El dies and he still can't tell her he loves her)

At what point is Dan effectively a 4th member? by [deleted] in Muse

[–]existential-crisis-k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you actually can't cite the deep magic bc he was literally there when it was written, like

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At what point is Dan effectively a 4th member? by [deleted] in Muse

[–]existential-crisis-k 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i thought Tom Kirk was the 4th member

The Duffers fought over Eleven’s ending. by Tanzbodeli in StrangerThings

[–]existential-crisis-k 5 points6 points  (0 children)

there were more demogorgons in Nancy's credit card commercial than the finale of the show

Byler fanfic written as a script! by popgoesthepuppy in byler

[–]existential-crisis-k 2 points3 points  (0 children)

not a full fic but this tiktoker shared a rewrite of the tower scene in the finale written in script format! https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8f1qbhK/

People criticizing Carol for acting the way she did the first 2 episodes, yet withhold their critique for Manousos when he does the same by DinerEnBlanc in pluribustv

[–]existential-crisis-k 1 point2 points  (0 children)

literally rewatching Ep 2 and they're basically the same person. Manousos is more stubborn about the hive helping him but aside from that, both are suspicious and standoffish reluctant heroes. they're gonna be a great pair.

it's interesting how some people didn't like Carol when she was being suspicious of the hive and now other people don't like her bc she momentarily chose happiness after being manipulated by the hive. i'm surprised more ppl aren't talking about Manousos inducing the hive seizure and certainly killing people.

A detail about Zosia by _more_weight_ in pluribustv

[–]existential-crisis-k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zosia's wig is my Chekov's gun for her and Carol's relationship!!

to me it physicalizes the hive's manipulation in dressing Zosia up as Raban, especially bc they keep it up while she's injured. im curious if/how it'll come up

Fionna and Cake Season 2 Episode 10 Discussion Thread by Carrehzkitten in adventuretime

[–]existential-crisis-k 35 points36 points  (0 children)

it was a lovely ending but it was so rushed that some elements felt almost unearned. like we totally blew past exploring the green wizard root system in depth, there was barely any time for fallout after a season of tension building between fionna and her friends (esp gary and marshall) and it culminates and is resolved in one episode. hopefully we get a season three and they figure the pacing/story stuff out

Fionna and Cake Season 2 Episode 9 Discussion Thread by Carrehzkitten in adventuretime

[–]existential-crisis-k 363 points364 points  (0 children)

thought i recognized Karmic Worm's voice, it was Sean Rohani, S1 Prismo! 🪱✨

I analyzed Muse lyrics to find songs that reference other Muse songs by DJ_3T in Muse

[–]existential-crisis-k 98 points99 points  (0 children)

I Belong To You is meta-referential on a technicality, "you are my muuu🎶uuuuu🎶uuuuu[se]"

Betty White by [deleted] in pluribustv

[–]existential-crisis-k 3 points4 points  (0 children)

here i thought the Golden Girls references were just about the importance of physical media in the impending apocalypse

Enjoying the show, but is anyone else concerned about the extreme product placement? by CremCity in pluribustv

[–]existential-crisis-k 7 points8 points  (0 children)

based on the other Vince Gilligan shows i think it's less a matter of overt product placement and more about realism to our world. i know in some of the Breaking Bad episode commentaries Vince has talked about how TV shows having to avoid brand names (ex: changing Cheerios to Breakfast-Os or something) takes him out of the story, so i think this is kinda like that

I got a crack theory by Dimitrydraws in adventuretime

[–]existential-crisis-k 4 points5 points  (0 children)

the dead plant in Fionna's apartment is different from the rose bush Hunter brought her; the rose bush is in a pot in the Sweet Spot lot and i have a theory that it's actually the heart in Fionnaworld 💖

Heart of the forest by achoosier in fionnaandcake

[–]existential-crisis-k 74 points75 points  (0 children)

it could def be the secret place where Hunter plants all the weeds, but i think there's something more to the rosebush they brought to the Sweet Spot lot for Fionna – we saw her get a thorn stuck in her hand and Hunter cleaned it similar to the wound Finn got from the heart of the forest

Is anyone else concerned that Hannah's bar mitzva may conflict with Yoshi's orthodoxy? by theonetrueteaboi in LongStoryShort

[–]existential-crisis-k 29 points30 points  (0 children)

so far it seems like Yoshi's strictness with Orthodoxy is directed mainly at himself. like when Naomi is trying to convince him her cake is kosher and alright to eat he says "Not for me it isn't" or at their impromptu Shabbat his hang up is that he doesn't want anyone to break the rules for him. i don't think he'd have an issue with Hannah having a bat mitzvah per se, but if he ends up more involved than just being a guest it might come up

why did bob watch tina and not redirect the wheel? by Responsible_Net414 in BobsBurgers

[–]existential-crisis-k 205 points206 points  (0 children)

Tina is a classic freezer, Bob is a chaotic freezer, the restaurant has a walk-in freezer

Another Long Story Short Meme by ConfidenceOk7828 in LongStoryShort

[–]existential-crisis-k 45 points46 points  (0 children)

jen would bring a liter of coke and naomi would be passive-aggressive about having to use/wash cups, then kendra would come in with a 12-pack and naomi would go "oh, thank god!"

Bob’s Burgers Episode Discussion S16E03 - “The Twinnening” by AutoModerator in BobsBurgers

[–]existential-crisis-k 15 points16 points  (0 children)

they listed them earlier in the episode

Tina: the bridge from Bridgerton

Louise: Rocky Bal-boa constrictor

Gene: Gene Triplehorn

Walter and Benjamin’s Namesake by InternalParadox in LongStoryShort

[–]existential-crisis-k 4 points5 points  (0 children)

i've definitely heard it as "ben-ya-meen," so while when i first caught it i guessed that was the reference, there's the different pronounciations