You’re Not Alone

A few weeks ago, Captain America: Civil War pulled off the really difficult feat of creating an ensemble superhero movie, giving all of it’s multitude of players the right amount of time and still centering around it’s main hero.

X-Men: Apocalypse, had s different magic trick to pull off. Unlike Captain America, there isn’t a central figure of the X-Men movies, certainly not with a pull back from Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. (Who does show up here, though in a completely brief appearance.) Apocalypse feels more like a sequel to X-Men: First Class (my favorite of the series) than Days Of Future Past (which I like a lot less), which is great. The new kids are exceptionally fun, especially seeing Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers.

There were not many things I was as excited about this movie season as I was for seeing Olivia Munn as Psylocke, and she did a good job jumping off of things and slashing at people with her sword. She was appropriately badass.

The thing that I was happiest about in this movie was the shift in focus slips back around to James Macavoy’s Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto, who are just so good. We also get a hammy fun performance from my boyfriend Oscar Isaac. (And a whole pre blueing out, shirtless…bless you Brian Singer), a reunion for Charles and Rose Byrne’s Moira McTaggart and a comics appropriate intro for Storm.

I walked out of the movie smiling, which is more than I expected, honestly. So it’s got that going for it.

 

Oh, and the post credit scene teased X-23. So, you know. WHAT THE HELL? YESSSSSSS!!!!

Rankings

1. Captain America: Civil War
2. X-Men: Apocalypse
3. Alice Through The Looking Glass

Trailers

I waited too long to write this up, so I don’t remember most of the trailers. But I think there was Ninja Turtles, which, I am unreasonably

Game Of Thrones Winner: “Blood Of My Blood”

It took a lot of thinking before I landed on this winner, although I’m not sure why. Table setting episodes can be tough calls but in the end, well, this is the best I could think of.

Sam won this week.

Sam went home, in hopes of keeping Gilly and Little Sam safe, but in having to deal with his douche of a father, he remembers that he’s kind of a bad ass, and he and Gilly and the baby take off, and steal his family’s Valerian Steel sword Heartsbane, because you know what you do with Valerian steel?

You kill mother fucking White Walkers!

Runner up is Benjen Stark, for being alive and saving Bran and Meera from those Wights. Mostly the being alive part though. Guys, we have so many Starks now. Just so many. Also, I think it’s interesting that Benjen was reanimated with the same magic that made the Night’s King.

Missandei and Grey Worm Watch

They weren’t around this week, but in other shipping news, Gilly got a pretty dress. So we’ll talk about that.

Sam’s sister gave it to her and I love the puffy princess sleeves. (Sam’s mother and sister had those too, so I guess that’s a fashion thing in that area. Anyway, that’s all.

Sansa’s Agency Watch

No Sansa this week. But next week she’s all, “I did what I had to do, but I was always a Stark.” I love her.

Arya Bad Ass Watch

Arya didn’t kill the actress! She chose the name Mercy! She reclaimed Needle! She’s going to have to fight The Waif and it’s gonna be ballin! (As I said, this was mostly table setting, not a lot happened.) But it’s time for our Wolf Girl to come home and help her brothers and sister take back the North. And kill Cersei, she should absolutely kill Cersei.

Bran Stark’s Excellent Adventure

This week, Bran basically recapped the series, and caught glimpses of King Aerys Targaryen shouting “Burn Them All!” Which as we know, is the incident that caused Jaime to stick a sword in his back, and start a whole lot of messes.

King Tommen The Adorable

Tommen and Margaery join with the High Sparrow, which is less “adorable” and more “probably a really dumb idea,” but he also spares Jaime and sends him to the Riverlands, which means that Jaime and Brienne will soon be right near each other.

Seriously, you all keep your Brienne and Tormund Crackship. I will be ride or die Jaime/Brienne. This ship will sink with me on it and I stomp my feet and curse the Many-Faced God, and Rh’llor, and The Seven, and The Old Gods, because they are the one true ship.

I have opinions about this…

6 Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Special Movie Season Saturday Post!

Before I full on review Alice Through The Looking Glass, I need to make it clear, Mia Wasikowska is a treasure, and we, the consumers of genre cinema, do not deserve her. We must strive to deserve her by all admitting that Crimson Peak is the best, and that she’s the one who holds this whole Alice business together and it has very little to do with Johnny Depp.

With that out of the way, Alice Through The Looking Glass is pretty good. It has a couple of conceits that are irresistable to me, time travel and punching the patriarchy in the dick, so you know, I was going to like it.

Alice has returned to England after exploring China as a ship’s captain, on The Wonder, which she inherited from her father. Once home she learns that her mother has sold her shares in her father’s company and they’re going to have to sell the boat to keep their house.

Because this is a stressful situation, Alice does that thing where she goes to Wonderland, or Underland as it’s called here. She then learns that The Mad Hatter is not doing well, due to realizing that his family, who he thought long dead, might not be after all, and this messing with his sense of self.

Alice steals a time machine from Time Himself (Sacha Baron Cohen, the best I’ve ever seen him.) and goes back, learns the origin of the conflict between the two queens and saves the Hatter’s family and then goes home and starts a new business with her mother, while laughing at the various bearded obnoxious men who try to stop them.

The movie is visually great, the performances are steady and the plot simple enough that the flights of fancy seem organic. Alice Through The Looking Glass isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it’s a nice pleasant glow. And that’s worth something.

Rankings!

1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Alice Through The Looking Glass

Trailers:

Nine Lives: Nope. I will not be seeing this.

Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life: This I might see, on a slow weekend. It looks super cute. And it has a butt load of my favorite sitcom actors as the teachers.

Sing: Again, looks real cute.

Me Before You: It looks pandering and kind of annoying, but stars Khaleesi, Clara Oswald and Mr. Bates, so, I think I’m like required to see it. Also, I’m pretty sure Emilia Clarke smiles more in that trailer than she has in six years of Game of Thrones. 

Pete’s Dragon: *sings* I’ll be your candle on the water…my love for you will always burn…

I was disappointed that we didn’t get Beauty and The Beast, as I’d held off watching it on a computer to watch it on the big screen, I’ve now watched it. It’s perfect, it’s beyond perfect. It’s everything it possible could or should be. Just wow. Way to go.

Sailor Moon Crystal Check In: Destruction and Power Up

So now that everything is out in the open, with the outer senshi, and a battle that stops everyone from trying to hurt each other, the end of the Witches 5 and the birth of a the guardian of destruction as well as an explanation of the outer senshi’s reluctance to embrace their inner sisters.

A lot happens in this episode, but it’s also really talky. We get like seven flashbacks, including one where Chibi-Usa talks to her mother about Sailor Moon just being THE BEST, and Neo-Queen Serenity, basically is all, “There’s a million things I haven’t done, just you wait, just you wait.”

Which is my weird theater geek way of saying, it’s time for Super Sailor Moon, who’s absolutely beautiful, and the transformation, which comes from the rest of the Senshi lending her their power, it’s really beautiful.

Meanwhile, we get the whole, “Saturn Awakened and destroyed what was left of the world after the fall of The Silver Millenium” flashback, which is important, as well, and beautifully done. We also get the “Hotaru becomes a cyborg” flashback as well as her transformation into the Saturn Black Lady (I don’t remember her name…and I don’t feel like googling it.)

I understand the need for this episode, to get the pieces into place and all, it’s just hard to recap this episode because, well, nothing really happens.

So, that’s why I don’t have a lot to say. Looking forward to what comes next week. (I’m actually going to be ahead of everything next week, because Memorial Day gives me time off, and I’m seeing 2 movies this weekend! YAY!)

Anything Other Than Me: One Tree Hill Rewatch: Season 4: Episodes 11-15

We’re into the back half of season 4. Which is the fun half, even though it’s basically basketball free and that’s usually the kiss of death to One Tree Hill. But this one time, it actually works, and it’s pretty awesome.

Season 4: Episode 11: “Everything In It’s Right Place”

So Peyton and Lucas are a couple but she’s nervous about it. Because Peyton fully understands the way this show works and that the minute anyone is happy, that happiness gets snatched away from them in horrifying fashion. Lucas assures her that they’re not going anywhere and she smooches him. But during one of these conversations, she does let go my favorite One Tree Hill line of all, “I think dreams are like, email for ghosts.” Once upon a time Mark Schwan and JJ Abrams were working on a pilot together. I bet that show would have had all the ghosts.

Anyway, Nathan tells Haley the truth about how he probably killed Daunte. She moves into Karen and Lucas’s because she’s afraid she can’t trust him. Nathan mopes until he gives her speech and then she takes him back.

Brooke and Rachel break into the school in a pair of fabulous catsuits to steal Brooke’s calculus test, but when they get caught wind up having to join Clean Teens, which is the best. Because it leads to things.

Dan is in jail for “killing” Daunte, but he’s considering it for Keith really. But in the end he gets out because it turns out that Daunte died before the beating. Also Deb breaks out of rehab. Did I mention Deb was in rehab? Whatever, it’s the worst. Dan comes home to Karen and a collage calling him  murderer. The adult storyline is getting interesting again, which is good.

Also, the show is entering a happy period and this time, no one gets shot to end it. Which is why I like season 4 better than season 3.

Season 4: Episode 12: “Resolve”

So much happy. Seriously, on any other kind of show I would hate this run of episodes, because not a lot happens, but on this show those are my favorite kinds of episode. In this one, Lucas and Peyton make cookies, Nathan, Mouth and Skills win a stripping contest. Haley worries about being to fat for prom and Brooke goes on a date.

There’s not much there and yet there’s everything there. I love it so much.

Oh also, Deb tries to commit suicide, but that’s adult storyline, which is still really slow at this point. Honestly, without Keith, the adult story lines are really not worth much even with Dan trying to make up with Karen, which is vaguely interesting but since he killed her fiance and the father of her child, there isn’t much of a chance for it to actually go anywhere.

But we do get to see Shelly and Mouth meet. (Shelly and Mouth!) And we meet Chace and he and Brooke go on their first date and it’s magical and we MEET CHACE. When I think about latter day OTH and Chace is an absolute bright spot and I love his and Brooke’s relationship and I’m really excited to be starting it.

Season 4: Episode 13: “Pictures of You”

This is my favorite episode. In seasons 2 and 3, I mentioned loving the excuse for the cast to simply speak to the camera episodes, but “Pictures Of You” is better than that. It creates character interactions, interesting scenes and lets us into the way these characters are thinking right at this point in their story, when things are quiet (well, relatively) and good for them.

Haley and Skills talk about their fears for the future. Peyton and Nathan reflect on their shared past and their repeated patterns. Brooke reveals her insecurities to Chace. Bevin schools Rachel. Mouth and Shelly connect over their misunderstood reputations. And Lucas gives Glenda the first draft of An Unkindness Of Ravens. His memoir. The show always calls it a novel and this always bothers me. Lucas did not write a novel, as far as we can understand it. He wrote a memoir. So, moving forward, I will refer to An Unkindness of Ravens as a memoir. I hope everyone is on board.

But really this is my favorite episode because it gives me my favorite episode from the show.

I love this image of Brooke, for all the reasons that I love Brooke. She’s a symbol of everything good about teenage girls. All the innocence and bravery and brazeness. And here she is, standing in defiance of all the things that teenage girls are told about themselves and it’s perfect.

Season 4: Episode 14: “Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers”

The bomb is about to go off, but at least it’s an emotional one this time. It’s time for the fairly small and personal plots that have been building to hit the fan in a big way, and like I said, I guess that needed to happen. It really is exceptional how tight the story telling is in this arc, I kind of love it.

Anyway, Deb is getting out of rehab and asks Nathan and Haley to move in with her. They decide to do it, but before she comes home they throw a party in the big house and that’s where most of the action goes down. Because Rachel switched calculus tests with Brooke, she’s about to get expelled and Haley gets fired from the tutoring center. So Haley slaps her and throws her out of the party.

Mouth and Shelly have sex and she breaks up with him. It’s all really dramatic and lovely and I LOVE them, not quite as much as Mouth and Rachel, but a lot. Lucas and Peyton also decide to have sex for the first time, but it gets interrupted by the most emotional of all bombshells.

THE NATHAN AND BROOKE SEX TAPE!!!!!

Season 4: Episode 15: “Prom Night At Hater High” 

Oh Prom, that magical night senior year when your friends all get together and have a really fun time. Or, if you go to Tree Hill High, no one is talking to each other because of a sex tape.

Nathan is doing an apology tour, first he goes to Haley, who isn’t having it and asks him ot make a list of the girls he’s had sex with. So that’s pretty fun. Then he goes to Brooke, who shrugs it off. He’s changed since then, they’re all good. Next is Lucas, who basically says the same thing, but is much more concerned about Haley. Finally there’s Peyton, who’s basically trying to play it cool by how hurt she is by all of this. And by cool I mean, COLD, like she doesn’t care, but it’s clear that she’s very very angry.

Especially since she tells Lucas as much and then winds up beating the snot out of Brooke and crying. Then she tells Lucas that she’s not going to prom and he’s pretty disappointed about it, but tells her that he’ll come get her no matter what.

Meanwhile, Peyton has painted the word “Whore” on Brooke’s prom dress so it shows up in black light. Brooke is thrilled because this means that Peyton cares. Also Rachel leaves town, after being expelled for the test stealing thing. Haley and Nathan make up, and she reveals that she doesn’t need her boot anymore. It’s kind of the best thing ever.

When Peyton decides to go to the prom after all and answers the door expecting Lucas, it’s actually Psycho Derek.

BUM BUM BUMMMM!

Overall Analysis Of This Arc

Seriously, I love this one. I mean, it ends with soapy goodness, the return of Peyton’s stalker and the explosion of the Brooke and Nathan sex tape, but until then, it’s just all really good character stuff, and that’s the stuff I like the best from One Tree Hill, it is in fact, what OTH has over it’s peers. I love The OC’s sense of humor, Gossip Girl has better style and suds, but OTH has the strongest characters and character relationships, and that really shines in this arc. It’s smallness highlights how wonderful it is.

“Specimen”: Beauitful Men, The MCU and Female Fantasy

As I try to grow as a woman and a feminist and a writer, one of the things that I’ve been trying to pay some attention to is gendered language. I read an essay a while back that talked about the way that we discuss women’s looks verse the way we talk about men’s. Words like “beautiful” as opposed to words like “handsome.” Because of this I’ve tried really hard to use specific words when it comes to describing someone’s attractiveness whenever possible.

And lately I’ve been thinking about men who I describe as beautiful.

Not all the men I find myself attracted to would fit this descriptor. I’d say even a traditionally attractive man, like say, George Clooney is still more handsome than beautiful. The Boston Boys, as I’ve called them many time (Wahlberg, Affleck and Damon) also fit that bill. But I do kind of have a thing for pretty boys.

Specifically here, I want to talk about The MCU, though and how those men, in particular are just, beautiful. It’s a specific brand of gorgeous, they just glow, and while they’re certainly representing a male power fantasy, as nearly all superheroes do, there’s something feminine in the fantasy of these men. One of my very first posts here was about how The Avengers presents archetypes for several different fantasies for those so inclined.

Obviously, “The Chrises” are the best example of this Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and later Chris Pratt are all beautiful, if in a simple specific, WASPY way, but when you place them as Captain America, Thor and Star Lord, you’re creating three specific types, The All American Good Boy, The God and The Roguish Man Child. They are specific fantasies.

What got me thinking about this recently was of course Civil War, but specifically Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther in Civil War. I knew from 42 that Boseman was a good looking guy, but as I watched him on the big screen as T’Challa, I grabbed Aless’s arm and gasped, “He’s just so beautiful!” (Her response, a nice little pat and “yeah, hon, I know, but…movie…” Aless is a much more rational human than I am.)

Sooo, beautiful….

So what does this have to do with feminism? Well, allowing for female sexual fantasy is a big part feminism, and allowing men to be seen as aesthetically beautiful is also a good gender parity thing. But I’m not the first person to talk about the female gaze and the Marvel movies, but it’s an important aspect that I think doesn’t get talked about enough. But I talk about this a lot in my everyday life and now I want to talk about it here too.

Because I think talking about beautiful men is important. And also fun. So that’s, that. YAY!

Game of Thrones Winner: The Door

I had to think a lot about this week’s winner, because unlike the past few weeks there wasn’t a clear winner.

I mean, I guess, Euron Greyjoy won, because of Kingsmoot! But when I really thought about it, I decided to give the win to a bit of an underdog.

Meera Reed!

Even though Hodor’s fate can be a little bit blamed on her. (Though mostly on Bran, being a ninkompoop about Past Warging) She also put a speer through the heart of that white walker and it was totally bad ass. Like, totally badass.

Runner up goes to Jorah, who finally told Dany how he felt, and then got a royal order to go seek out a cure for his greyscale. (Wept through that the whole time, by the way.) It was really a lovely scene. But also, our girl is on her way home, to a peaceful (ish) city. But without her bear body guard. And it’s very sad. But also cathartic.

Missandei and Grey Worm Watch

Didn’t do much, but they sat around while Varys and Tyrion made their “recruit the red priests and prestesses” plan. That Varys also doesn’t seem to like much. But turns out that something else happened the night that Varys got cut, and it’s kind of weird.

Sansa’s Agency Watch

So Sansa told Little Finger off and it was glorious. She’s also just totally all set to take back the North. She also sends Brienne to Riverrun, and I don’t see that ending well, because, I mean, could it be possible, after all of this time, might we see…could there possibly be Lady Stoneheart?????? Anyway, Sansa is just running around with all the agency this season. I really appreciate it.

Arya Bad Ass Watch

Arya gets her new assignment, to kill an actress who is currently performing as Cersei in a play about the events surrounding her father’s death. As Arya watches the play you see her getting disturbed and it’s actually quite the scene. But anyway, she accepts the assignment, but I think that Arya is still more Arya than a girl, because she’s questioning it.

KINGSMOOT!

Yara comes this close to winning the Iron Islands, with Theon supporting her, but then Euron shows up and ruins everything. He wins by saying that he’s going to go to Mereen and get Danerys and I somehow don’t see that working out, except that Dany does need ships…it’s awfully complicated though

Anything Other Than Me: One Tree Hill Rewwatch: Season 4: Episdoes 6-10

I told you that I’d get it done! And in getting it done, I remembered why I love watching this show and doing these posts, and now, the plan is to finish Season 4 this weekend and get back to the 1 episode a day thing. (Though probably at not on my lunch break, because good weather means walking and the weather has been delightful). Anyway, here’s this week’s post, thanks for dealing with my reshuffling.

Season 4: Episode 6: “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”

Peyton is not dealing well with having been attacked. She’s not sleeping, she’s really timid and just being generally un-Peytony. Because if there’s one thing that I’ve come to appreciate during this rewatch, it’s that Peyton Sawyer is a badass. Anyway, Lucas is trying to break her out of her funk but when he can’t do it. So he goes to Derek, real awesome Derek, who is a marine, and the best, to ask for help. So, Derek brings Peyton to his base and teaches her to box, and during the boxing lesson we get an awesome montage of all the things that have tried to knock Peyton down. It’s pretty great. In the en he tells her that he’s leaving her alone but actually he watches her overnight, just in case she needs him.

The only thing that isn’t great about this storyline is that it really underlines how patronizing Lucas can be and how much he infantilizes Peyton. It’s pretty gross. But Lucas has never been my favorite character either.

Nathan and Haley are having money problems. Haley is really freaked out about it and so is Nathan but he’s mostly handling it by going down to the river court and shooting hoops, because and I repeat, Nathan is the most realistic character on this show. Anyway, he winds up borrowing the money from Daunte, who is a sketchy ex Raven who’s kind of stalking Nathan but also is RICK FOX! WAHHH!

Brooke is now dating Nick, who it turns out is the new English teacher, and this plot is so tired and sketchy that I really hope no one ever does it again. (Seriously, teen shows need to stop, they’ll never beat Pacey and Tamara and they should QUIT IT). Also, Mouth and Gigi decide to date, and it’s fine. Gigi is basically a stop over between Rachel and Shelly and it’s sort of a bummer, because she’s a fun little weirdo. (And they ruin her when she comes back as an adult.)

Lucas is back on the team and The Scott Brothers + Skills is an unstoppable team! They make states! Everything is awesome. (Except for the lack of money and Nathan borrowing from a lone shark, but you know OTHERWISE everything is great!)

Guys, RICK FOX!

Season 4: Episode 7: “All These Things I’ve Done”

A bit of table setting this episode, but I love it just the same. The two main stories are Brooke and Peyton based, with quick asides for Nathan and Lucas and Haley. (Can you tell that Game of Thrones is back, so I’m more used to character juggling these days?)

Peyton is skipping school because going outside gives her panic attacks. Derek confronts her about this, and while his version of “help” is “be really mean to her for no actual reason,” it winds up working. It actually makes a lot of sense. Peyton really isn’t a girl who’s been told “no,” or “sack up” a lot in her life, for all that she’s dealt with a ton of misery. So, he brings her a punching dummy and she beats it and agrees to be in her life as long as she needs him. Seriously, Derek is the best person ever.

Brooke, meanwhile, has her fashion show which is going really well. She’s having buyers approach her and the model’s are all into Mouth, who’s about to go on his first date with Gigi. Meanwhile, she’s still sleeping with the English Teacher, and ahhhhgggg I hate this plotline so much and if no teen soap ever does it again I’ll be thrilled. (It was only ever any good from a drama perspective on Dawson’s Creek anyway) Rachel gets wise and decides to end it, because it may be twisted but Rachel does have a code and she knows it’s wrong. So she calls Nick out, and he may come on to her? Or she comes on to him? But she then goes to the principal when Brooke won’t end it. Brooke denies the affair and goes to see Nick and finds him with one of the models. This plot is (mercifully) over.

Season 5: Episode 8: “Nothing Left To Say But Goodbye”

Nathan is starting to realize that he made a HUGE mistake with all of this Daunte business. He’s now being asked to throw the state championship, or Daunte will hurt Haley. Nathan is conflicted. So conflicted that when he learns he’ll be the receipient of the MVP award, and goes to Dan for help. Dan tries to help, but in the end tells Nathan that he has to lose the game to protect his family.

Brooke has a realization after breaking up with Nick that she might miss Lucas so she goes to see him and then finds that Peyton’s been sleeping over, because of her whole thing with the panic attacks and the PTSD. She freaks about this less than she thought she would, and Rachel points out that she’s not in love with Lucas anymore, so who cares?

Guys, I’ve decided that Rachel is us, we are Rachel. Also Mouth and Skills.

So Brooke asks Lucas to go with her to the senior awards banquet and he says sure and then Peyton decides (with encouragement from Derek) to ask him too, and then Lucas looks all whistfully at her and says he’s sorry but he’s going with Brooke and wouldn’t it be great if they could all be friends again and go together?

Lucas is such an idiot, but the idea of a Brooke/Lucas/Peyton triad, something that would never have occurred to me back when I first watched the show, stuck in my little bubble of heteronormativity, is very appealing, mostly because Brooke and Peyton are a better couple than either of them ever were with any guy.

Anyway, Peyton winds up going with Derek and then he gets called up and she actually handles him leaving well, because of character growth. (Seriously, I don’t know why I’m so in love with Peyton these days you guys…I hated her the first time around.)

Whitey also gets a lifetime achievement award, and makes a speech and everyone, including me, cries. Oh, and Dan and Karen are kind of dating, but it’s weird and I actually love the nuance of this story, and I’m very into Moira Kelly this watch as well.

The episode ends with Peyton telling Lucas that she’s in love with him, once it’s made absolutely clear that he and Brooke are 100% done. What will his answer be?

Season 5: Episode 9: “Some You Give Away”

“The Tree Hill Ravens are champions at last, and there’s not a dry eye in the house.”

Much like Nathan and Haley’s wedding, I believe that this episode, where the team plays in the state championship game is a nearly perfect episode of this show. It so perfectly hits on what the show does right, without any clumsy or sour notes. It’s framed around a recording of an announcer from the State Championship that Dan sat out. It’s a good device.

As the team prepares for the game, Nathan confesses to Lucas that he’s going to throw it. Lucas lectures him about it and continually gives him shit. This is one case where Lucs’s self righteousness is absolutely the right way to go. Nathan needs to be guilted right now, even though he’s also in an impossible spot. Dan tries one more time to reason with RICK FOX  but it doesn’t work out.

Haley is tutoring Rachel and it’s going pretty well, but as the girls wait for the game to start, while Brooke and Peyton bitch at each other, she starts having stomach pains. The rest of the squad rushes her to the hospital, where they band together to best the mean desk clerk, who hates them because they’re cheerleaders. Haley learns that not only is she going to be fine, but she’s going to have a boy. While they’re waiting Peyton and Brooke talk a little, and Peyton explains that she’s done trying to fight for Lucas because it’s clear he doesn’t want her.  This makes Brooke think.

Lucas and Skills decide to freeze out Nathan so that they can win without him, but at half time, when Haley tells Nathan they’re having a boy (and Whitey calls out the team for not being their best) it makes him realize how important this game is to him and he’s back in. The Ravens win and Mouth gives a rousing speech about the power of sports to unite us.

I’m in love with this speech and I think it’s actually one of the best pieces of writing from television of that decade, that frequently gets ignored. Anyway, after the win, Brooke goes to Lucas and basically tells him to go to Peyton. He does, they kiss, everyone goes to celebrate. But of course, this is Tree Hill, no happiness lasts long and because Lucas wasn’t taking his heart meds he collapses on his way to Peyton’s after the after party, and Daunte hits Haley with a car, and Nathan beats him to death? Or almost does and then Dan finishes the job? I don’t think it’s ever made clear. Oh, also, Rachel reveals that she was only getting tutored so that she can steal the test for Brooke, who’s actually failing. This plan is so needlessly convoluted.

So, the episode ends with Lucas and Haley in the hospital and everyone else crying. It’s just really, really good though.

Season 5: Episode 10: “Songs To Love And Live By”

Uggghhh, the It’s A Wonderful Life episode. The only episode worse than this one (that I remember) is the film noir episode, which thanks to Agent Carter I will probably now find adorable/sad (RIP Agent Carter…) but ugh, I was not looking forward to this one except that Keith comes back as Lucas’s Angel.

Mainly because the conceit of It’s A Wonderful Life is specific “what if I’d never been born,” so “what if I’d been a bigger dick than I am?” doesn’t really work as a take on that. Also, it’s just an excuse for Luke to learn that Dan is really the one who killed Keith rather than Jimmy, which is important, I’ll grant you but the episode is still pretty stupid. He sees a dead Peyton, a Goth Brooke and a record smashing Nathan, nothing special. In the end, he chooses to be alive.

Oh, there is a really nice moment where Peyton and Brooke ask their comatose friends to take care of the other one. Peyton asking Haley to take care of Brooke, “we can’t leave her with Rachel,” and Brooke asking Lucas to take care of Peyton. It’s really sweet. Oh, and we see the first appearance of show creator Mark Schwan as “Record Store Guy,” at least, I don’t think we’ve seen him before.

I don’t have much to say, because I really do hate this episode, which I hate to say because Keith and Lucas bickering about how Keith is a terrible spirit guide is fun, but the rest of the episode just blows. 

Overall Analysis of This Arc

I love the playoff and championship stuff and the Derek stuff. Also the Nathan and Haley stuff. Actually I just love this arc, I think it’s wonderful! I love this whole season, actually, and I’m really excited to plunge forward into more of it. I’m really excited about the Lucas and Peyton as a couple stuff, because I do like them, a lot.

Sailor Moon Crystal Check In: Cyborg Girls and Holy Grail

There’s a lot that goes on in this episode, but I think before we talk about anything else, we need to talk about Sailor Neptune’s earrings, which I just noticed and are the best things ever.

So cute! Anyway the episode. After Sailor Pluto appeared she explains the whole outer senshi rebirth thing, but not before first giving Chibi-Moon a big hug, because they’re the best friends ever. Then, Sailor Moon transforms into Princess Serenity and the outers explain who they are and pledge their fealty to her. But they also make it clear that they have control of their “mission,” which no one else should know about.

Rei and Mamoru are particularly wary of the newbies, because they’re carrying the three talismans (talismen? Seriously, I don’t know what the plural is there…) and they’re supposed to bring destruction.

Thanks to a news report that Usagi’s dad is watching they learn that there might be something suspicious about Hotaru’s father, so Chibi-Usa agrees to keep her eyes open and when she goes to visit Hotaru, after being stood up at the movies, she finds out that Hotaru is a cyborg. There’s also a super creepy scene where Hotaru has a new procedure.

As for the main battle, the outer senshi begin battling the last of the Witches 5, who the professor points out have been failing miserably. It’s a cool looking battle, and she eventually casts a spell to set the inners against the outers (sad), which is even cooler looking.

The thing that stops the battle though, is something that I don’t remember from the manga and I like a lot better than what the original anime presented, the Holy Grail is summoned when the Moon Family, (Chibi-Usa, Usagi and Mamoru) combine their powers. So the Holy Grail is like a Moon Family Captain Planet, and I think that’s kind of cool.

And that ends the episode.

In other notes, the opening has really grown on me. I don’t think I’ll ever love it the way I do “Moon Pride” or even the opening from Sailor Stars which I completely adore, but it’s a beautiful melody and the image of the girls flying through the air is very arresting.

Schedule Problems

My schedule is royally messed up this week. The One Tree Hill post is not ready, and I made the decision to get caught up on The Flash rather than watch anything else, so my schedule is kind of messed up.

I’ll still do Sailor Moon tomorrow, and One Tree Hill will most likely go up on Friday, and hopefully I can pick momentum up back on that train. (been watching episodes again and I do love them. I was just resting on the huge lead I’d gotten and it caught up with me.)

I of course hadn’t taken into account that I’m going into my busy season of life at the moment, and now that Kristi is on board, Con Season will be even crazier, since she just went and bought tickets and photo ops for Philly so there’s no backing out now. (This is good, I was waffling like crazy on whether or not to go, so now I’m going, 2 days.)

Anyway, I don’t regret getting caught up on The Flash, because I do this thing where I forget how good that show is, and then it’s like “Oh yeah, The Flash is the best superhero show on TV…” the end of the season has been, funny, had decent action, and so much heart that it was worth burning my schedule to the ground to get on board. (Also, my stuff is starting to clog the DVR again, and that’s how I lost track of Legends of Tomorrow, although I’m told that isn’t much of a loss…) I still have to get caught up on Scandal and Arrow and Agents, but luckily I have a bunch of time this weekend to do just that (and get back on the OTH horse.)

I’m also hoping to get to see The Nice Guys this weekend. (Yes, that I’m diving into Con season will not distract from movie season, it’s just, movie season seems to be gearing up more slowly…also, I still need to see The Jungle Book and Keanu, which aren’t even Movie Season Qualified as they came out before the spring Marvel movie. I know that these rules are arbitrary and I made them up but they give me structure, so yeah, that’s the deal.

So, that’s why you’re not reading about the Tree Hill gang today. You’ll read about them on Friday. Sorry.