Okay, I know I am late to the party in this one, but I have *finally* seen Heated Rivalry and it’s phenomenal and I have Thoughts.
One of my thoughts is about how different the same line is from different mouths.
FYI spoilers.
Ilya’s father has just died. The man was cruel and hard but Ilya couldn’t help loving him, and Ilya’s brother has been a lead weight Ilya can’t stop bleeding for. At the funeral, his brother corners him and asks him what his plan is now. Demands it. How are you going to take care of us now that dad is gone. It cuts Ilya down and is the final push to make him reject the role his family has for him.
Then in the last episode, Shane’s mom asks him the same thing. Whats the plan? But it’s *completely different*. She isn’t asking anything of him. She’s pivoting immediately to square up solid in his corner, ready to do whatever he needs. It’s so different. It’s the same line, both delivered from family after a shock, and it communicates so much more.
There isn’t a right way to love someone. There isn’t a right thing to say when they need you. It’s the context and the love and how you show it that matters, and the fact that this show and these actors managed to put so much into the simple, clean subtlety of the script that made the most throwaway lines stand out and show so much is just. This is just one detail in so much that shows the brilliance of everyone who worked on this.
So uh. Yeah.
If you haven’t yet, fucking watch Heated Rivalry. Jesus. This show is amazing. The acting is amazing. The CAMERAWORK, fuck. Well fucking done.
That was delicious. I genuinely don’t think I’ve seen anyone line up those scene parallels so well before. This was a perfect snapshot of every branch, rock, and mattress they hit on their way down
the “i don’t know that side of you at all” line is so underappreciated because it’s really the first time ilya has revealed an insecurity to shane, something so ingrained in him by his father that he wears it like a second skin, and he positions it as a light-hearted joke but as always shane doesn’t get it. shane meets him head-on, so earnest and sweet: i don’t know that side of you at all. i only know that you have put in relentless work to hone your craft and dominate your career. i pour everything into this sport and you’re the only one who can keep up—how could you be lazy. i made you pursue me for two years before we had sex and you never stopped. you could have anyone; you put in the work for me. every time we fuck you give and give and give. you’ve learned my body and figured out what i need because i never let myself. i don’t know that side of you at all.
One of the best letters I’ve ever seen just popped up on my Facebook memories. Still makes me laugh.
As today is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, it’s a great time to revisit Dinah from Devon’s memory of this historic event. And yes, still makes me laugh.
Today is the 54th anniversary of the moon landing, but Dinah’s diary entry is still absolutely magnificent.
57th anniversary of the moon landing and the best diary entry in the history of diary entries. Sit down Samuel Pepys, it’s over. UGH.
honestly my favorite thing about hardison is that he has no real tragic backstory, he’s just like “i am very smart and therefore i should be allowed to do crime” and he’s entirely correct
i love everyone reblogging this going “yeah! soft boy!” in the tags bc that’s my other favorite thing about hardison (i have many) and that’s that he’s never particularly treated as morally grey bc he is constantly so kind and loving and good and also he enjoys some crime
parker: i have severe psychological trauma and i steal things to cope bc i don’t know how to relate to people
eliott: i have a tragic history being entangled in the mafia and even now i could kill the most dangerous fighters without firing a gun
hardison: if money is fake, why not for me and my grandma who i love? :)
Yes!! I love Hardison’s orientation towards right and wrong, in part because it’s such a fun, powerful contrast with other members of the team.
You have Parker, who has been designated as bad and wrong since she was a very young child and who has let go of any expectation of being anything else, so that identifying and doing what she thinks is the right thing is consistently an overwhelming and scary experience for her;
Then there’s Eliot, who can point to exactly when and how he became irredeemable in his own eyes and whose highest ambition now is to do the wrong thing for the right people this time at least;
Nate, who is clinging to all of these ideas about morality and legality and good and bad that are completely inconsistent both internally and with his behavior, because his very normative view of the world was shattered and he never put the pieces back together in any kind of coherent way;
Sophie, who sees right and wrong as primarily about relationships between people, like she does everything else: right and wrong is in how you engage and who you hurt interpersonally, anything more abstract is irrelevant. But within that, there’s also this weight to how she engages, this sense of regret at how she’s treated people in the past that we never really see the full scope of;
And into this morass of regret and alienation and self-doubt, beautiful sunshine child Alec Hardison sails with this completely coherent, straightforward understanding: he’s doing the right thing. He understands the systems creating and maintaining inequality and he’s winning against them. He doesn’t feel bad at all about breaking the law because he doesn’t respect it as having any moral weight, and why should he? He’s right. Y'all I love him somuch.
In case anyone hasn’t heard, the cyclospora outbreak affecting tons of people in the US right now is coming from Taylor Farms produce. Best to stay away from bagged lettuce and prepared salads completely right now, but especially the ones mentioned in the screenshot:
Taylor Farms Earthbound Farms Little Salad Bar (Aldi) Marketside (Walmart) Kroger House Brand Target private label greens Costco salads and greens etc Trader Joe’s chopped salad kits and fresh produce Fast food: McDonalds, Taco Bell, (Yum! Brands), Chipotle, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Olive Garden, Top Golf, Red Lobster, Burger King, etc.
This is not the first time I’ve heard about a Taylor Farms foodborne illness outbreak. I stopped eating their salads after reading a description of the conditions in their facilities. Doesn’t sound like they’ve improved anything.
We need a fully funded and staffed FDA, and regulations with teeth - and that’s exactly what we don’t have under Trump. To make things worse, the CDC is no longer tracking these outbreaks. We’re on our own.
ALT
