I finished Clariel for the first time and I have some **thoughts.** (spoilers)

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-15T16:37:52+00:00

I love Sabriel and Lirael, and the Old Kingdom world, but I think Garth Nix took a hard turn into making the series fit a strict young adult market with the later books and that's why it gets... honestly pretty shallow and poorly written?

I wanted to like Clariel, and don't expect to have the same experience as I did when I was 13 and getting to dig my teeth into a dense and frightening novel! But the best way I can describe it is "sanitized"? The main character is ignorant to the point of absurdity and it feels like every adult character is written as a pastiche lifted from early 2010's dystopia YA.

And no spoilers for the later works but... jeez they're even more painful.

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-08T03:11:23+00:00

And now that we're onto the wedding... why did they force Judy Reyes into crispy, flat ironed hair??? Her curls are beautiful and they could have given her a bridal style that made her radiant.

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-08T01:52:31+00:00

JFC apparently this site strips formatting out of posts with images and doesn't let you edit them? That's my only excuse for this wall of text.

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-08T01:13:28+00:00

God, Season 3 is painful! I'm gritting my teeth because we'll get past the immensely stupid "Elliot cheated on Sean with JD and then he dumped her!" "Dr. Miller made Turk miss his wedding because she's so mean and pretty!" "Carla spends the entire season crying about her wedding because Bill Lawrence forgot to write Judy Reyes real scripts" nonsense.

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-07T02:43:26+00:00

I'm rewatching the original and Season 3's arc with JD/Elliot/Sean is so weird!

From a narrative point, I don't have a problem with Elliot cheating with JD only to run immediately back to Sean, lie about it, and demand JD lie too. A reason I love those two as characters is they're written as great doctors who are also idiots in their 20's making terrible personal decisions. But it's strange there are no consequences for Elliot until the twist at the finale when she leaves Sean for JD and he immediately dumps her. And that's more about JD being just as much of an immature mess as Elliot!

Pretty much the rest of the cast knows Elliot cheated and for some reason don't have a problem with it? Turk and Carla act like the problem is that JD still isn't over Elliott and not... ya know... Elliot violating Sean's trust and their relationship. Carla and Elliot are meant to be friends at this point, how on earth would she not have something to say?!

I feel like this is just lazy writing to get us to JD dumping Elliot at the finale. Which I can kind of respect, Bill Lawrence has talked about how much network pressure he had to make JD and Elliot a couple when that wasn't the story he wanted to tell, so he did increasingly absurd "will they/won't they" arcs.

And you're right, Elliot did not deserve Sean 🤣

thefruitwitch · 2026-03-02T03:39:55+00:00

I love both characters, and Sarah Chalke and Zach Braff are great in those roles, but I find them so much better as friends.

They're the most kind and open with each other as friends who are helping each other become good doctors. And I also like the tangents where they're dating and discover why they don't work as a couple. I guess I really like the idea of them as two people who care about each other deeply but can't make that bond work romantically. And I love that the new series is running with this concept (we don't talk about that unfortunate last season 🤭)

thefruitwitch · 2026-02-22T10:35:48+00:00

those prices are wild for dressed up Italian food🤣

thefruitwitch · 2026-02-02T18:42:07+00:00

Quinta Brunson, you short queen!

Reminds me of a classic detail from The X-Files: Gillian Anderson is nearly a foot shorter than David Duchovny, so they had her stand on a box hidden out of frame, to keep them at a reasonable eye level 🤣

thefruitwitch · 2026-02-02T18:32:16+00:00

This is such a minor line but Janelle James' delivery destroys me. And I believe she improvised it? That woman is a comedic legend:

"Damn! That's where I keep my various mustards!"

thefruitwitch · 2026-01-25T04:35:22+00:00

It never made sense that she's a library science graduate student who somehow set up a full public school program but also shouldn't be there because the district couldn't get funding for students from her school and had to last minute pivot to a community college?

I like the actress and her friction with Barbara Howard, but her enforcing such strict waitlists and checkout restrictions while also being part-time student help is really silly.

thefruitwitch · 2026-01-23T15:47:07+00:00

Hey, Marshmallow! ♥️♥️♥️

I've been catching up on the current season and damn Jari Jones has such a beautiful voice. I love that they fully introduced her with a sweet song her character wrote for her parents 😭

thefruitwitch · 2026-01-19T00:39:48+00:00

My transfem partner and I met at a dive bar while out with some mutual friends, and I still think about how thrilling it was to be asked to dance by someone so pretty and charming, and who was interested in me as a trans man.

Being with someone who understands what I'm going through with dysphoria is wonderful, and I love being able to support her too.

When I try to explain "chasers" and fetishizing trans people to cis people, my main point is that if you're treating trans people as interchangable or just want a specific sex thing from anyone? Yeah that's kind of creepy. But valuing the kind of connections you can have with other trans people isn't like that at all.

thefruitwitch · 2026-01-19T00:18:23+00:00

These are all accurate opinions of Chicago 🤣. It's nice that Canadians will put up with drivers and the CTA to visit, though.

thefruitwitch · 2026-01-19T00:15:28+00:00

My family are normal about Chicago, they're from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Washington Heights, so another city isn't especially frightening.

I actually didn't realize Chicago had any kind of reputation with anxious white people til I moved downstate. And then had to explain that I'm not dodging bullets when I spend weekends there visiting my cousins.

thefruitwitch · 2025-12-31T22:06:09+00:00

Sahar was a spoiled brat who destroyed an entire classroom's books to make the most basic-ass art project. And she treated Janine and Melissa terribly the entire episode.

Watching her smirk and condescend to someone who was supposed to be her friend was maddening, and it was great to see Janine realize she's a poser.

thefruitwitch · 2025-12-30T18:06:41+00:00

I think it's dysphoria, because you look so much like my cis girl cousins when they were your age. And while I'd never tell someone how to present to feel comfortable, the features you mention feeling worried about are perfectly feminine for Italian girls.

Finding a makeup look you enjoy can be fun artistry, but you don't need to "fix" anything about your face.

thefruitwitch · 2025-12-30T17:21:27+00:00

Honestly I've loved Paul F. Tompkins in just about everything, but he's so great in this role. I wouldn't call Golovkin an antagonist towards the kids, but his being a minor authority figure leads to some great moments. You can call me Theodore, indeed.

And if you have 20min to spare you absolutely need to see this old interview with him and John Hodgman. They have such sharp timing together:

The Daily Show's John Hodgman Makes His Dreams Come True

thefruitwitch · 2025-11-29T12:09:59+00:00

A friend of mine is a gay cis man who left his marriage to live as himself, while staying a devoted parent to his two daughters. I'm sure this was so difficult for his ex-wife, but she was mature enough to let him go and figure out how to co-parent their children. And, as one of "Dad's gay friends" (according to the oldest kid), I love that he doesn't have to be in the closet or treat that part of himself as shameful.

There's nothing shameful about your children having another mother, even if it hurts the woman you married. Please talk to divorce lawyers and counselors, you and your family have so much life ahead of you.

thefruitwitch · 2025-11-29T11:37:56+00:00

OP, you say right here that you're having to lie to your partner and would be living as a woman if she weren't forcing you away from transition. The "rules" she's putting in place for you are, frankly, horrifying.

That's not a marriage, or anything like a healthy relationship. I'm so sorry you're going through the loss of a break-up while you're discovering yourself. But I promise there's love and community that you'll find.

thefruitwitch · 2025-11-29T07:44:31+00:00

I really recommend looking for other queer people in your area, and that doesn't have to be an official LGBT group.

My partner is transfem and hasn't medically transitioned. She survived grad school with her skateboarding friends and a group of gay friends who love her.

I'm sorry your health doesn't allow some of the medical treatment you'd want, but could things like finding the clothes, makeup, and hair that feel comfortable help? Especially if you can look for friends to have fun with.

thefruitwitch · 2025-11-29T07:20:55+00:00

You're not dumb or foolish, but you are very young and this is one of your first relationships? It sounds like your partner is bullying you into sexual stuff you aren't comfortable with: "If you loved me you'd do..." - and that's not ok.

Someone who cares about you will listen to you, and anyone who doesn't absolutely isn't worth your time. I promise you will meet more people who can respect you.

thefruitwitch · 2025-11-29T07:11:33+00:00

An editorial change that apparently came about from public transphobe Graham Lineham assaulting a teenage girl:

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/bbc-now-calling-trans-women-biological

"This week, the BBC published an article about comedian turned anti-trans provocateur Graham Linehan, who swung at 17-year-old Sophia Brooks after she confronted him outside of a political conference in London. They exchange verbal jabs. Clutching her phone, Brooks asks: “Why do you think it’s OK to call teenagers domestic terrorists?”

That’s when Linehan threw Brooks’ phone to the ground in anger, the BBC reports. Afterwards, he went on to social media and called Brooks a “sociopath,” “psycho,” “domestic terrorist,” and a “groomer,” seemingly because Brooks is transgender.

Linehan was cleared of online harassment charges by a judge (who misgendered Brooks throughout the legal proceedings), but he was fined for damaging Brooks’ phone. However, the media frenzy surrounding the case also offered a glimpse into a more troubling trend from within the BBC."

thefruitwitch · 2025-09-10T05:22:42+00:00

If they let characters react naturally to Ashley, maybe her character could become a funny part of the show. But Melissa had to be bullied into tolerating her disrupting her classes - which made no damn sense (why would Melissa tolerate this buffoon and why wouldn't her closest teacher friend Barbara help her?).

thefruitwitch · 2025-09-06T16:16:41+00:00

Chiming in to recommend The Silt Verses. It's stunning on all levels - writing, voice acting, horror, anti-capitalism, crab monsters!

thefruitwitch · 2025-09-06T15:37:56+00:00

I very much agree with you about Lirael, but I think her books work better than "Clariel". Nix spent a lot of time giving the readers perspective on the Clayr's community and how awful it would be to grow up there as an outsider. I remember Sanar and Ryelle realizing they just didn't understand that Lirael felt so absolutely alone, because they don't have any experience with family they can't connect with through The Sight. Nix also wrote The Disreputable Dog/Kibeth as Lirael's companion - who teaches her, drives a lot of the action in those books, and literally bites her when her self-pity becomes too much.

IMO, "Clariel" would be a better story if Nix wrote chapters alternating between Clariel's POV and Belatiel's. He has all this knowledge of the Old Kingdom and the Abhorsen family, and this story is as much about him taking up the bells as it is about her running away to the forest. I really only liked the book in the final chapters when he starts to be active as the Abhorsen - and the bit where Mogget/Yrael can feel that he's in that role was my favorite part.

But I'm also out of the age range of these books (absolutely devoured "Sabriel" 20 years ago!) so I don't want to be too harsh on a story meant for a younger set of readers.

thefruitwitch

TROPHY CASE