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geeves posted:But they didn't and I don't think it would be. It thematically undercuts Martin's fall. Martin wanted to escape his life and become powerful enough to stop his expulsion from Fillory and returning to the abuse of Plover. As someone else said, Martin gained powers at expense of his humanity and turned into something worse than what he wished to escape. The show demonstrated this better by this episode instead of having Jane say a "blink-and-you-miss-it" comment about Plover diddling Martin. The show also goes one further and showing that Martin possibly cursed his siblings to an afterlife of torment out of spiteful jealousy when he returned to Earth to kill Plover. Yeah, after re-watching the ending of the episode, I realize that we're lead to believe that The Beast is Plover, when it will be Martin. Also, Sera Gamble - one of the writers - confirmed that Josh WILL be in the series, but not in the way that we expect. https://mobile.twitter.com/serathegamble/status/704474600529235968 According to the preview for the next episode: Penny travels to the Neitherlands and sees a bunch of other magicians there. Maybe that's where we're introduced to Josh, and we learn that he's been traveling to the Teletubby world to gently caress one of them.
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Mar 15, 2016 17:45
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Mouse Dresser posted:Edit: I'm really confused as to why Jane is like 17 and not 7. In the books at least, she became an established witch after running off to Fillory and presumably is older than she 'should' be because she's been loving with time, traveling back and forth while trying to find a sequence of events that results in Quentin and gang beating the Beast instead of dying.
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Mar 15, 2016 19:07
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WarLocke posted:In the books at least, she became an established witch after running off to Fillory and presumably is older than she 'should' be because she's been loving with time, traveling back and forth while trying to find a sequence of events that results in Quentin and gang beating the Beast instead of dying. That explains Esme Bianco, but not why they've got her as a teenager when they're showing her first travelling to Fillory from Plover's house. She's the youngest of the Chatwin kids in the books. It's not really that big of a deal, ultimately, but it is sort of  when the Brakebills folks keep calling the Fillory books "kids books."
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Mar 15, 2016 20:15
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Mouse Dresser posted:That explains Esme Bianco, but not why they've got her as a teenager when they're showing her first travelling to Fillory from Plover's house. She's the youngest of the Chatwin kids in the books. It's not really that big of a deal, ultimately, but it is sort of I'd call poo poo like Nancy Drew and Hardy Bros "kids books" and the protagonists for those are teenagers. Hell, Harry Potter they're teenagers after book 3 and I'd call them kids books up till 6 or 7.
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Mar 15, 2016 22:42
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Mouse Dresser posted:Yeah, after re-watching the ending of the episode, I realize that we're lead to believe that The Beast is Plover, when it will be Martin. Watch them make Josh a hot surfer dude with more abs than he knows what to do with.
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Mar 15, 2016 23:23
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Elliot still consistently the best loving character in the books and in the show.
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Mar 16, 2016 01:07
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Well, that was pleasantly surprising - they finally managed to match the tone of the books.
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Mar 16, 2016 03:30
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Hollismason posted:Elliot still consistently the best loving character in the books and in the show. Absolutely. Hale Appleman is great as Elliott. He's the best part of the show, hands down. Though I think that Jason Ralph is finally coming into his own with Quentin. Looks like next week's episode features going to Alice's parents' house. IMDB lists an actor as Mr. Quinn. I hope they keep him walking around in a toga, I liked that part. nutranurse posted:I'd call poo poo like Nancy Drew and Hardy Bros "kids books" and the protagonists for those are teenagers. Yeah, that's true. I guess I'm just irritated by all of the pointless changes, and took it out on the Jane thing. nutranurse posted:Watch them make Josh a hot surfer dude with more abs than he knows what to do with. If not that, then he's massively fat and there's a bunch of fat jokes at his expense.
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Mar 16, 2016 05:13
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This episode started well, but it just kept getting worse as it went on. Well, I say started, but what I mean is the first bits of the haunted house. The stuff with the author being a paedophile was pretty terrible, but up until then it was going well. The Julia storyline is still the best part by far, but this episode was pretty dull on that front and at least it looks like something might actually happen with the Brakebills crew in the next episode, now that Penny's presumably been sent to Narnia.
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Mar 16, 2016 14:28
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Looks more like The Woods Between The Worlds.
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Mar 16, 2016 14:33
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They seriously need to do something with Julia, either move her story forward or kill her, what is the point of her being in every episode when her story doesn't progress? She has been in a holding pattern for 3-4 episodes now. That being said this was actually a pretty decent episode, the show really works best when they just follow the book, instead of taking short cuts or making up meaningless plots. For example in the Narnia books the kids are invited to this amazing land, and then Aslan decides that they can't come there any more, when they get too old. The Magicians runs with that and shows Martin being frustrated and hurt that he has been shut out of Fillory, and it is his desire to get back there that turns him into the Beast, there is a good solid story there, it doesn't need ghosts or torture dungeons, just tell it like it is.
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Mar 16, 2016 18:02
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Oasx posted:...there is a good solid story there, it doesn't need ghosts or torture dungeons, just tell it like it is.
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Mar 16, 2016 18:46
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Oasx posted:They seriously need to do something with Julia, either move her story forward or kill her, what is the point of her being in every episode when her story doesn't progress? She has been in a holding pattern for 3-4 episodes now. He story has moved forward. It's the Brakebills stuff that's still at the same place it was by the end of episode one. Well, except for Penny disappearing at the end of the last episode, that might go somewhere. Or he might just reappear next episode and they'll do nothing again.
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Mar 17, 2016 02:37
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Ersatz posted:Along those lines, revealing the pedophilia would have been horrific enough, without the addition of the abusive aunt, etc... But I'm still happy to see that they're starting to take the source material more seriously. This last episode was dark, and not in an angsty-teen way. I liked the episode a lot, although I'm sad they (apparently) replaced the beast. I kept hoping there'd be some possible way you could believe that Martin gets a leg up and takes over but nope.  Also I agree that making Elliot be from "Indiana!?" was stupid, I grew up in Oregon and there is no end of ignorant, crazy hillbilly farmers who want to end the public school system etc etc.. My personal suspicion is that the show writers decided in a meeting that "Portlandia is too popular, so a lot of people who hear 'Oregon' may just assume he's a posh hipster, rather than a backwoods farmboy." I know plenty of folks who instantly assume that I live in Portlandia when they hear I'm from OR, so...  Tiggum posted:He story has moved forward. It's the Brakebills stuff that's still at the same place it was by the end of episode one. Well, except for Penny disappearing at the end of the last episode, that might go somewhere. Or he might just reappear next episode and they'll do nothing again.  after the end of book 1."
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 02:39
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coyo7e posted:Without the Plover sister/aunt/whatever it would be even darker, because Plover would've had to murder all those kids himself before vanishing into the ether. I'm thinking that it's going to be a fake out. We're supposed to think that The Beast is Plover, especially the with the line about extra fingers, but we'll see it's Martin and he'll give a Bond villain-esque speech about picking up Plover's research after he killed him or whatever. I also assume that Esme Bianco is going to come strolling in and be the one to actually kill Martin. Then we'll get her reveal to Quentin and company that she's been Jane Chatwin loving with time all along. So, effectively, making Alice's Niffin-ization worthless. Because SyFy.
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Mar 17, 2016 05:10
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Tiggum posted:He story has moved forward. It's the Brakebills stuff that's still at the same place it was by the end of episode one. Well, except for Penny disappearing at the end of the last episode, that might go somewhere. Or he might just reappear next episode and they'll do nothing again. I have many problems with all the changes they have made to the story, but the Breakbills story is essentially following the first book, and it will come close to to being finished this season. Julia's story is half a books worth of material and they are trying to stretch it over two seasons, which is why she just hangs around not really doing anything, there really was no reason why she should have been a part of this season, other than the first episode.
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Mar 17, 2016 05:53
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"You can't possibly want to be a dick more than you want to live." This show may be hot garbage but some of the writing is excellent.
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Mar 17, 2016 06:48
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Mouse Dresser posted:I'm thinking that it's going to be a fake out. We're supposed to think that The Beast is Plover, especially the with the line about extra fingers, but we'll see it's Martin and he'll give a Bond villain-esque speech about picking up Plover's research after he killed him or whatever. I also assume that Esme Bianco is going to come strolling in and be the one to actually kill Martin. Then we'll get her reveal to Quentin and company that she's been Jane Chatwin loving with time all along. So, effectively, making Alice's Niffin-ization worthless. Because SyFy.  .)Rhyno posted:"You can't possibly want to be a dick more than you want to live." but good lord does Alice have an impressive  which the cameras seem to focus on at every chance
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Mar 17, 2016 07:28
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I think my favorite line from the episode was right after the creepy music box started playing, Quentin's exasperated, "Jesus, we get it, there are ghosts in here."
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Mar 17, 2016 09:54
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Oasx posted:I have many problems with all the changes they have made to the story, but the Breakbills story is essentially following the first book, and it will come close to to being finished this season. So nothing happens in the book either?
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Mar 17, 2016 10:28
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Tiggum posted:So nothing happens in the book either? Pretty much.
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Mar 17, 2016 14:11
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it segues pretty heavily into narnia poo poo after a while, so the show is pretty much on track for that.
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Mar 17, 2016 17:25
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Tiggum posted:So nothing happens in the book either?
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Mar 17, 2016 17:32
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coyo7e posted:Well that's kind of the entire point of the first book so yeah In fairness they either haven't gotten to, or don't plan to get to, the part where they just gently caress around and party and do drugs all day like Jersey Shore and get all nihilistic for a few months which would make that theme a bit more clear.. IRQ fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 19:04
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IRQ posted:In fairness they either haven't gotten to, or don't plan tp get to, the part where they just gently caress around and party and do drugs all day like Jersey Shore and get all nihilistic for a few months which would make that theme a bit more clear.. I'm so torn on that section of the book. While the drama of it all certainly feeds into the story massively, I was growing so loving bored of "hey let's drink and do drugs we're so forlorn." Although I guess that it detailed the idea that even being a magician doesn't solve all of your problems. The show summarized that with Quentin's dad and Cancer Puppy, and has gone out its way with Julia to show that being able to perform magic doesn't make it all better. In fact, it can make it all worse. So cutting that entirely/downsizing it (whatever they choose to do) might be for the best. In a way it seems like they've shunted the whole "waaah I am morose and drunk" into the schooling year, rather than having it be a post-graduation thing. But they loving better have the cacodemons in their backs poo poo. I really loving loved how Quentin's demon had glasses and was a dork demon who needed direction.
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Mar 17, 2016 19:19
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coyo7e posted:The novels are like this as well. There are so many just stellar lines however, they're interspersed with the occasionally terribad jokes straight off fark.com etc. I hope they start making the dorky characters start dropping awkward lolcat jokes or something here and there. Nice try but there's no way I'm reading the garbage that this garbage is based on.
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Mar 17, 2016 19:20
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Mouse Dresser posted:In a way it seems like they've shunted the whole "waaah I am morose and drunk" into the schooling year, rather than having it be a post-graduation thing. But they loving better have the cacodemons in their backs poo poo. I really loving loved how Quentin's demon had glasses and was a dork demon who needed direction. The best part about that was that it ended up being completely useless. Josh wasted his the next day, Alice uses hers in a scene we're probably not going to get in the show, and when Quentin finally pops his it immediately gets eaten. 
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Mar 17, 2016 19:24
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WarLocke posted:The best part about that was that it ended up being completely useless. Josh wasted his the next day, Alice uses hers in a scene we're probably not going to get in the show, and when Quentin finally pops his it immediately gets eaten. Yeah, Janet released hers right after getting it, and it was basically only Elliott's that did any damage. During my re-read of the books, most of the characters retained the imagery I had pictured of them when I first read it. Only Elliott was replaced by the actor who plays him on the show. Hale Appleman is so good.
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Mar 17, 2016 20:07
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Whoa, a good episode!
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Mar 18, 2016 08:24
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huh, content warning.
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Mar 22, 2016 02:17
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"You haven't even touched your penis." "I had a ton of it yesterday." ... "Joe's anatomy is adaptable, he's like a swiss army knife, he's good for every occasion." "A Margolem." Elliot is amazing in this episode. All the situations for all the characters are hilariously awkward. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Mar 22, 2016 |
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Mar 22, 2016 03:58
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Oh poo poo, The Source? *prepares self for Highlander drama*
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Mar 22, 2016 04:59
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So... was Joe supposed to be Josh? Traveling dude who wants to bone things in all the universes....
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Mar 22, 2016 07:13
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This episode is starting out far too loving goofy, I'm gonna have to revisit later.
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Mar 22, 2016 12:05
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Why are Eliot and Margo even in this show? It seemed at first like they were going to be involved, but apparently they're just there to fill time with pointless B plots. Although, in terms of pointlessness, the main plots aren't really doing any better. Julia's story didn't really move, this felt like a total filler episode for her, and the Brakebills stuff didn't really go anywhere either. Penny went to the wood between the worlds and then to L-space and got some information that we haven't seen yet, we met some more characters we've got no reason to care about or assume will be worth remembering, and basically we're still at the same place we were at the end of the last episode. And is there some reason why no one seems to know anything in this world? Like, every bit of knowledge requires speaking to some obscure expert, there's no such thing as wizard reference books. Do their libraries just contain spells and nothing else?
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Mar 22, 2016 15:48
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It's indicative of the world they live in. There's a lot of undercurrent in the books about how humanity is just kinda babies tinkering with daddy's power tools and magicians are balancing between knowing gently caress all and destroying everything by accident. On one hand a gently caress up of the absurdly complicated gestures and incantations and phases of the moon can turn you into a niffin. On the other hand Brakebills is full of spells laid down a hundred years ago and slowly breaking apart because no one knows enough poo poo to just fix them (in the books they talk more about the spells, such as the seasons being out of whack and all sorts of little poo poo that should be easily fixable but isn't). No one really knows anything. Humanity is gleaning the littlest bit of power and information by trial and error and still exploding into niffins or teleporting into a volcano more often than not. Edit: loved the episode even if it was a bit of spinning wheels. Penny continues to be my favorite actor delivering lines and his incredulity after popping out of the fountain was a highlight. Even though Eliot has poo poo to do with the plot his stuff was great. It was a fun episode even if the plot didn't advance. Also, I really loved that Eliot had two books - he's done enough hosed up poo poo that it's already spilled over when everyone else just had one. Mortanis fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Mar 22, 2016 |
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Mar 22, 2016 17:02
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Tiggum posted:Why are Eliot and Margo even in this show? It seemed at first like they were going to be involved, but apparently they're just there to fill time with pointless B plots. Everybody in the book spends huge amounts of time doing nothing, getting high as kites, and being visibly bored and unhappy to a greater or lesser extent. The nominally most powerful kid, (character personality summaries) Penny, is a self-centered bully with a chip on his shoulder, Alice has this awful, humiliating family life which has caused a bunch of personal hangups, Quentin's obviously sick in the head, Margo's your classic "Mean Girls" stereotype, etc. When they graduate, they find out that magic has solved the problems they never actually experienced growing up ie needing to pay the bills, because it's easy to just magically convince some big corporation to put you on payroll to fund your coke habit. Yet there is no inherent satisfaction in having the bills paid when you were already being fast-tracked toward an Ivy League school and obviously never had to worry about groceries once in your life, so then you're stuck with, "what now?" A lot of magicians die in a lot of ways simply because there's nothing else to pursue and nobody around to reign them in because it really doesn't matter one way or another in the greater scheme of things. Alice' family is a strong example of this, where they spend all their time studying useless+obscure magic and hosting orgies, whenever they're not busy fighting with their kids and/or having mind-blowing sex with paranormal entities - they're the equivalent of rich ivy league grads who suddenly decide to live on a commune and make their kids call them by their given names, trying to act as equals rather than figures of authority to aspire to become/overcome/etc. The show skips a lot of that and it makes some of the characters such as Penny, much more empathetic and sympathetic, because it's tough to have a totally unlikable and hostile character in a TV show. Elliott and Margo are indicative of the greater themes in the novel however because the show spends so much time lightening to emotional punch of just how busted the kids all are, they feel out of place, and vacillate between comedic relief and weird, stuck-up roommates/friends of the other characters. The entire theme of the book is that magic doesn't solve problems, you solve your own problems by finding who you are, creating your own relationships and goals, and then pursuing your dreams. The "crumbling infrastructure of spells" is also glossed over in the show, although the hedge witches are played up to seem like their blind groping for spells is somehow unique when even the greatest magicians mainly are doing the same thing, albeit with a veneer of officiality. I suspect however that if you really made the show as bleak and sort of bland and made the characters all unlikable gits, then nobody would want to watch it at all. So it's been turned into "Harry Potter 2.0: we have sex and drugs ain't it just a gas?!" I personally feel that it's far more entertaining on TV this way however, I've also read the books so I know what it might have been - boring, bleak, and completely self-absorbed for almost its entirety.. Julia for instance wouldn't even be in the story for almost any of it, then she'd just pop out of nowhere as a self-cutting goth chick who's been busily banging demons to get her fix of magic (she's the only character I can recall who's actually completely focused on/addicted to magic by itself, and that's mainly because she got just enough of a glimpse behind the curtain to lose all of her desire to live a normal, successful life.. She's probably the dumbest and most boring character as far as I read or remember getting through the series. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Mar 22, 2016 |
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Mar 22, 2016 17:24
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Does anyone know who played the librarian from last night's episode? She's really familiar but I can't place her.
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Mar 22, 2016 17:43
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Overdrift posted:Does anyone know who played the librarian from last night's episode? She's really familiar but I can't place her. Mageina Tovah.
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Mar 22, 2016 18:24
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I love how the show gives every achievement Julia made in the books to a man who can just hand her the answers. Julia , lazy rape scene aside, is an actual strong female character. The show has adapted one man in one case and created another man whole-cloth in the other in order to take away any agency her character has. But no, they've been saying from the start they're not going to shy away from Renard rape. Wouldn't want to change important material like that.
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Mar 22, 2016 22:33
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