A Certain Slant of Light

I am at my parents’ house and therefore have access to a TV, and thus saw Vikings actually as it was broadcasted. EXCITING. I know.

Pity it wasn’t a better episode. The episode name is “All Change,” which is kind of ironic given that nothing in fact changed - the episode really feels like a placeholder. I have the impression that the makers of Vikings slapped together a few more episodes when they heard they’d be getting a second season - at any rate they could not possibly have thought this episode would work for a series end.

(But then again, at least ( spoilers )

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Also, there was yet another reference to a possible threesome. (The Swedish king offers Rollo two young ladies for the evening. Rollo turns them both down.) Threesomes have clearly become a writing room inside joke.

I also think that Lagertha & Ragnar’s invitation to Athelstan to join them was a one-off event, and we’re never going to see more development of it, which really should not surprise me - did we really think there was going to be an on-going OT3 on the History Channel, did we really? - but STILL.

Unless they are keeping Athelstan around for Lagertha to have a retaliatory affair with. Ugh. That is not an acceptable substitute for Enthusiastic Consent Viking OT3 at all.

Finally I have seen a Vikings episode almost on time! And...naturally it is the episode that I am all "WTF, Ragnar???" over. But I guess that's good, because now I can SHARE.

( Vikings )

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In other news, it is beautiful today and I finished my art history paper (two down, one to go! Naturally the one left has the earliest due date), so I am going to go take a nice long walk.

Castle season 4 finale!

Castle and Beckett!

Beckett and Castle!

I would say FINALLY, except that I enjoyed every minute of Castle and Beckett’s four-season-long mating dance: the sexual tension simmering on the back burner, only very occasionally surfacing as an overt will-they-won’t-they, and coming to a boil just when it began to seem like the will-they-won’t-they was going to take over the show.

It’s unusual for me to like a canon couple quite as much as I like Castle and Beckett, and I think it is because the writers were content to let the romance simmer in the background. Often canon couples’ romance seems to be entirely about their romance - as if there’s nothing to their feelings for each other except the will-they-won’t-they - and while Castle and Beckett’s feelings for each other color all their interactions, of course

Castle loves Beckett for being so driven and tough and stopping at nothing to close her cases, and being, above all, so brave - and I think this is one of the reasons he’s so disappointed that she doesn’t acknowledge that he told her he loved her; because that refusal seems cowardly, and her bravery is one of the things he loves about her.

And Beckett loves Castle for being outwardly goofy and helping her loosen up, but inwardly - though he hides it well, so she doesn’t realize for a while - just as serious and driven as she is.

Anyway. I’m hoping that next season writers pick up Castle and Beckett’s disagreement from this episode again, because while it’s nice that Castle and Beckett have finally admitted they love each other, they still have some really awkward conversations that they need to get through. Chief among them - Beckett clearly won’t (and, in a sense, can’t) stop looking for the conspiracy that killed her mother, and Castle equally can’t stand to watch her put herself in harm’s way.

I’m thinking Castle is going to have to be the one to budge, both because Beckett is clearly immovable and because chasing the conspiracy clearly has more plot potential than hiding. Which means there will probably be more conspiracy episodes next season, sadface.

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However, the next season won’t be out on DVD for a while, so I’m looking for something new to watch. I am thinking - The Borgias! Because Italy! And also the History Channel’s new Vikings series looks Relevant to My Interests, because almost canonical OT3!, (sineala linked these photos that is apparently the canon dialogue, OMG) - but I have also heard it is really boring, and that is kind of a dealbreaker, never mind the OT3.

People are forever telling me “You should watch X! It gets good after season Y!” My favorite for this is Buffy. No one agrees which season it gets good after after; I’ve heard all the way up to season 3. As if I’m going to waste 72 hours of my life watching a show on the assurance that eventually I’ll actually enjoy it. No, thank you, I expect my television to entertain me every episode.

I should probably give Bomb Girls one more episode to prove that it is up to the task...