Stuff Watched

[maplemood]

Derry Girls! On Sunday I figured out season 2 had dropped on Netflix and spent a very enjoyable evening marathoning the whole thing--it's only six episodes long, like the first season, and each episode is only around thirty minutes (so, in terms of bingeing, practically nothing). Season 2's still got plenty going for it on the black humor front, but it's maybe not quite as focused on the people-doing-awkward-insensitive-or-downright-terrible-things kind of humor as the first season; not that those kind of situations aren't there (Clare tries to connect with a Protestant boy during their Friends Across the Barricade weekend trip and ends up freaking out when he [apparently] says he hates all Catholics; Joe still hates Gerry for no good reason; Aunt Sarah wears a floor-length white ballgown to a wedding with predictable results), but they're all mixed in with a lot of warmth. This time around there are even more great friendship moments, and also the whole set-up continues to be heartwarming in a low-key way--like, it's never pointed out that the Quinns are more or less a second family for Clare, Michelle, and James, but they absolutely are. Also, for all that Joe keeps sniping at Gerry, everyone actually gets along pretty well for one big family forced to share one small house. Things can get tense, but at the end of the day they stick by each other and love each other. (Another really cute moment is when Orla invites Joe to the prom as her date, since "everyone kept saying you have to ask a fella you really like, and he's the fella I like the most.") And of course Sister Michael is and always will be the best: "You will go far in life, Jenny, but you will not be well-liked."

After stalling out a bit I have seasons 3 and 4 of Black Sails checked out from the library. I'm hoping to finish them before school starts back up (three more weeks?!). I'm expectedly super invested in Anne and unexpectedly super invested in both Jack and Jack/Anne; Silver's also grown on me a lot since the first season, where he wasn't a bad character (imo, anyway), just one without any human connections at all. He was completely in it for himself, and even though he still is, a bit, in his own way he's genuinely loyal to the crew by the end of the second season, and they're loyal to him--the season 2 finale caps off with the most heartwarming amputation scene ever (maybe the only heartwarming amputation scene ever?) and in season 3--though I'm not very far in yet at all--he seems like he's trying to do right by them, as opposed to just do right by himself. He's still Silver, though, so who knows. 

Comments

[selenak]

I loved the second season of Derry Girls as well.

Re: Silver, partly it‘s a case of becoming the mask - i.e. in order to survive and gain a relatively safe position, he has to pretend to have the men‘s best interest at heart, and come the finale, he realises (and is not happy about it) that he actually does have the men‘s best interests at heart when not taking the opportunity to just swim on shore. (Compare that with the s2 opener, when he couldn‘t believe that Flint actually wanted to capture the galley instead of just using the opportunity of getting the hell out of there.) Then there‘s also the ever changing relationship he has with Flint, but you‘ll get plenty more of that in s3.

The other part is that I don‘t think he expected to lose a leg. He probably expected to be roughed up somewhat by Vane‘s men, but he also knew Billy had the key now due to their moment earlier and thus rescue was on the way (more likely than not, if Team Walrus could overwhelm Vane‘s guards). That the torture would go that far and that the loss of his leg would be the result was probably a surprise, but then again, he could have provided names regardless when it became clear he wouldn‘t just get punches and kicks. Anyway, the way the show handles Silver‘s loss of leg from this point on is an excellent example of how to do it. It does have an impact on his psychology, but it‘s not the only reason nor the end all. Yet the show never forgets he does have this handicap.

Anne is a wonderful character. I‘ve written meta on Anne/Jack/Max, but that‘s full of spoilers for the entire show, so it‘ll have to wait.

Anne is

[maplemood]

It's a really wonderful show--I liked season 1 a lot, but season 2 is probably the one that hooked me for good.

Oh, yes, and I think that's what makes the fact that he actually does start to care--and like you said, isn't happy about it--so satisfying. Because it's not something he does intentionally, but the way in which he changes as a person. The torture scene was so intense, and I don't think he was expecting it to go on that long or get to that point, either. I only just finished the first episode of season 3, but so far I like how they're handling the aftermath; he's not coping with it well but he's also not completely sidelined by it, and it hasn't suddenly become his one defining character trait.

Jack/Anne/Max is so interesting! Like all good relationships it reveals something new about each one of them, but I also can't help feeling that it won't last (obviously I could be wrong!) especially since Max seems to be ramping up her scheming even more in season 3. (But again, I'm only an episode in, so I could be wrong!) Max is also a fantastic character just on her own; I love her a lot.

[selenak]

The course of true love never does run smooth, etc, but let me just say without spoiling anything that the show does right by Jack, Anne and Max as individuals as well as in terms of the relationships they have with each other.


Max starts out as probably the most powerless person in the ensemble and by the end of s2 owns the tavern, the brothel and a share of the gold. And we saw how she got there. Of course, having power carries its own risks, as she'll find out in s3 and 4, and her story never fails to intrigue me. Some of my favourite s3 scenes are conversations she has with *spoiler*, which feature amazing character growth of both parties.

[maplemood]

Oh, good, I'm glad to hear that! And Max's journey so far has been so great to watch--my favorite callback to s1 is when she tells Anne that her kingdom "is built on things I cannot control--it is built upon sand." Compared to her telling Eleanor that Nassau "is just sand; it cannot love you back"...it's just such a good callback, and it shows how much Max has grown but also that she hasn't lost her clearsightedness, which is a big part of what makes her her.

[elperian]

Derry Girls is such a truly joyous show. I feel like the creator went "I want to make a show about girls in the 90s" and just ran with it in a really great way.

I've also been starting my Black Sails re-watch with a friend; we're about to watch 1x03 on Saturday. Anne and James (Flint) McGraw are my favorite characters, and that's holding up in my rewatch.

[maplemood]

"Joyous" is exactly the right word for it! The s2 finale had me in pieces.

Anne and Flint are both SO great. If I absolutely had to pick I'd say that I have a slight preference for Anne (and her relationships with Max and Jack will never not be fascinating to me) but honestly? Apart from the obvious villains I can't think of a character on the show I don't like. They're all so complicated and imperfectly sympathetic.