the fruits of my labors (TVD, Fringe)

[yahtzee63]

So, temporarily DVR-less, I had to choose between "The Vampire Diaries" and "Bones" tonight, and somewhat to my surprise, TVD won, mostly b/c I suspected the plot would progress tonight on that one, while "Bones" looked mostly just cute. Tomorrow I will check "Bones" out and confirm whether that half of my prediction was true; the first half

Comments

[yahtzee63]

Elena is a very sensible young lady, and Bonnie -- don't mess with Bonnie, is all I'm saying.

Is their Uncle Zack dead?

[yahtzee63]

Yeah, both Elena and Bonnie are demanding answers -- of themselves, the people around them, etc. Caroline and Vicki aren't as proactive, but the costs of that strategy are already becoming quite clear. Do you think Vicki is going to be a vampire? I can't imagine they'd kill her off now.

Damon broke out the Angelus move there. Bye, Zack.

[kassrachel]

OMG, that episode was fabulous. I am gibbering. I loved the disjointedness of Olivia's flashback, Kirk Acevedo rocked my world, and I loved the slow reveal all the way through the ep. I am such a happy fan right now.

[yahtzee63]

That episode made me so, so happy. The text message from Charlie was, I think, the single most genius thing about it, but a solid 90% of it was terrific, and even the 10% I was uncomfortable with made sense by the end.

Are we going "Fringe" at Yuletide? I think I am.

[kassrachel]

I wrote Fringe last yuletide -- someone wanted slashy Peter backstory; I did my best to oblige -- though I haven't looked back at the story since then; we've learned so much more now (about the characters, about the 'verse) than we knew at that point in time that I suspect the story will look pretty dated already.

But yes! More Fringe this yuletide would make me happy indeed. :-)

Re: last night's ep -- I hear you on the discomfort. I actually liked that they went there: that it was clear that Walter had feelings for this woman, and that his feelings now are much more complicated than I expect they were then, and I loved his apology for having "taken advantage" because I think it's clear that he did, on many levels, even if she wanted him to. Though I'm glad on a sort of selfish level that she isn't angry with him now, because I have such a soft spot for Walter that I didn't want to see him suffer...

[yahtzee63]

That's the thing about Walter, isn't it? There's so much he legitimately needs to answer for -- and yet you also feel like he's paid a heavy price already, and he's now so fragile that you want to protect him, even from the just consequences of his actions.

The fallout when Peter's secret is discovered is going to be epic.

[inmyriadbits]

I really adore Olivia. She keeps forensic science textbooks on her nightstand, chugs glasses of blended flatworms when even Walter was planning to add strawberries, and geeks about multiple versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- distinguished by director name, mind you. (I think Peter found that last one just as attractive as I do, btw. :D) *draws hearts*

This show does really fun stuff with the sci-fi elements (all those heads on the ground, the scene in the car with the thermometers, the timeslips in her recollection); it's inventive in a way I haven't seen in a shamefully long time. Plus, it has a healthy sense of the dramatic. Hitting the bell and having Olivia collapse instead? Awesome. My favorite shot was maybe coming back from commercial break to see Olivia thrown into that wall in slo-mo. :D

I really need an icon for this show...

[yahtzee63]

Olivia just kicks so much ass. I love how completely no-nonsense she is -- and how that does not translate to "no fun." And yeah, they've kicked up the weirdly imaginative character of the show this year -- I feel like they are really showing us the strange nature of what she has to deal with, in the most inventive ways.

[inmyriadbits]

I love how completely no-nonsense she is -- and how that does not translate to "no fun."

I think it's that she has a very finely tuned bullshit filter -- and not in the way most Serious Business-type characters do, where things like humor and human foibles are dismissed as pointless. For Olivia, Walter dancing and putting one crazy records while shooting people full of drugs? Not so much bullshit, 'cause that's how he works. Arguing about drinking pureed flatworms instead of just doing it? Now, that's just silly. :)

[yahtzee63]

Yes, if Olivia doesn't laugh at your joke, it's not because she's humorless; it's because you're actually not that funny. And she can be totally loose and roll with the most bizarre things -- she only gets brusque about topics that call for it. She's so awesome.

[wondygal]

I had to choose between "The Vampire Diaries" and "Bones" tonight, and somewhat to my surprise, TVD won

I realized yesterday that, much to my surprise, aside from How I Met Your Mother, TVD is the show I most look forward to watching every week. Way to sneak up on me, cute teen vampire show!

[yahtzee63]

TVD is definitely my surprise from this fall. I still love "Bones" more overall, but am completely engaged with TVD and knew there was no way I'd miss the episode where Something Big Happened. Which I didn't know this ep was, but after last week, it stood to reason. But soon my DVR will be here, and then I'll be a lot happier and not have to choose!

[anodyna]

I haven't watched Fringe yet, but I had to comment to say that I'm with you on the Walter/Astrid thing. I don't know if it's just some oddity of the way the actors play it, or if it's being written that way on purpose, but I get a totally shippy vibe from them!

(I was going to say I share your shameful secret Walter/Astrid kink, but then I was like, huh, I'm not actually ashamed of this, Hah! However I just did write a Spock Prime/Gaila fic, so maybe I'm not the best judge.)

Of course I spoiled myself for the episode by reading this, but I'm glad I did because the development with Charlie in the first episode was so chilling to me that I'm glad they're not going to scare me/freak me out with it all season. Phew! By the rest of the description it sounds awesome and I can't wait to watch it.

[yahtzee63]

I think it's just that we see Walter and Astrid together all the time, and they have such a fun, weird vibe between them that is clearly personal. I suspect the actors built this -- the writers don't pay enough attention to Astrid overall, IMO -- but it is fun. (And I've heard good things about this Spock Prime/Gaila story! If I can make more unpacking progress today, I hope to check it out.)

I hope you enjoy Fringe!