I couldn’t put into words why that scene left such an impact on me but you just did perfectly and might I say OUCH.
THIS SCENE IS SO MULTI-FACETED AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT!
Anthony being touch starved and Lucy touching him so tenderly like that affects him so much from the get-go obviously cuz it fulfills that need. It also highlights their quickly burgeoning feelings/connection with each other but in the CRUELEST way cuz the reason she's touching him is not because she wants to but because she's possessed.
But, its not only just that she is acting in love with him (making the connection between them so hard to ignore) when its not really her that hurts but she's acting as if she loves him while he (his role) is HURTING her. With Anthony's past being so traumatic, you just KNOW he internalizes that shit even though its not really even Lucy talking and its not even him she's talking about. It hurts him to have Lucy act in love with him but also she's acting as if she has to FIGHT to believe he's not hurting her. She's acting as if loving him is causing her physical pain and that's horrifying for him cuz the one thing Anthony absolutely believes is that he hurts the people he loves. So to be slapped in the face with his growing feelings for Lucy but in a way that pulls at all of his trauma strings in the harshest soul twisting way?
Right after that you have Lucy reliving how Annabel choked to death to seal the traumatic incident with a cherry on top, finalizing Lockwood's internal fear that he kills the people he loves and is left alone.
Not to mention as the series goes on we see that Anything absolutely cannot STAND the idea of having hurt Lucy or her being unhappy with him even though he makes stupid decisions. Almost as if this incident triggered in him a crippling desire to never hurt her... So she'd never look at him like that again. Like he's everything... But also as if he destroyed everything in her to the point she fears him.
So in quick summation we have:
Lucy acting in love with Anthony under possession of a ghost while he very much does have growing feelings for her; and the love the ghost in her playing out being an abusive kind, the kind you have to convince yourself isn't harmful, forcing Anthony to relive his trauma and self-depreciate even more about the fact that it's hard to love him because all he can leave behind for his loved ones is hurt. Combine that with the traumatic way she relives Annabel's death and Anthony's genuine worry of Lucy's possession being... well... dangerous as is.
This scene is so beautifully acted. Ruby and Cameron's chemistry is insane. The way they portrayed that much range of emotion in such a short but impactful scene early on.
EDITED TO ADD: I also forgot to talk about the costuming cuz its the softest we've seen Lockwood in the whole series. All three characters are in their pajamas but Lockwood specifically is in a simple gray hoodie. Something that invokes comfort and relaxation. He's tense during the scene because of the situation but he's completely vulnerable as well. There's absolutely nothing for him to hide behind. No witty quips will work when Lucy can't hear him and he's fearing for her life, no physical force can be used to fight her either... And his emotional barriers are all down too. Not only because of the unexpectedness from the multi-targeted assault on his emotions but because he didn't exactly have time to prepare for such a thing occurring either. @locklyleiscanon pointed this out i think but Lockwood uses his suit as an armor. And he's not wearing it. There's no weapons near him. He's completely defenseless when it comes to Lucy in this moment as well as all the warring emotions that are overtaking him.
The first time I watched the scene my first thought was literally how soft and vulnerable Anthony looks. I didn't even have reference for the rest of the show (that he wears suits almost always) but it was a striking detail. Not just the vulnerability on Lockwood's face but in his body language and clothing as well.
Here's an edit I saw that made it all easiest to visualize and word for me:
Props to the person who made the edit cuz the close up scene and the slow motion at Just the right moment makes this so plainly visible to see.
This incident is simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to Lockwood regarding his feelings for Lucy. It shows him early on just how much he needs her, but reminds him of all the reasons why he can't have her.
The warm lighting as Luke holds Percy at sword point because Percy trusts Luke. Luke would never hurt him.
Then Luke later betraying Percy in the very same woods and hurting him with the same sword as the lighting shifts to this ominous dark purple
i could write an essay on how the writers use lighting as a method of storytelling
Everytime someone says bring back Nate, I shiver with dread.
And for someone who's a really big fan of Nate, I really would hate having to see him come back to Redemption. I saw on a Facebook group I'm in where someone asked how Nate would react to the Jackal Job, and I remember thinking that Nate, the Catholic man, would either not be a supporter or simply not be able to empathize or participate in the con without prejudice.
Look, OG Leverage has a place in my heart for a reason, but I cannot justify bringing back Nate at all. Nate's story could never fit into Redemption for a variety of reasons.
OG Leverage took the experiences Nate had and made a point in every episode why the man does what he does.
OG Leverage was about revenge first and foremost, then doing the right thing after, then building something more.
You know the reason why the stories never mentioned the disabled, the LGBTQ+, or the plain old voiceless of immigrant communities (this one was touched on but not really)?
It's because it wasn't Nate's story to tell. The original message was, if you are in a position where you have been wronged, then you should have the power to make it right. You deserve a second chance. That's why he always dealt with the scammers, the rich white men, the corporate greed, etc. He always tried to give people a second chance from a dumb or honest mistake, or to right someone's wrong.
That's why the Black Book was so important by the end of OG Leverage. It closed Nate's story with the idea that what has been wronged will be righted even if it meant taking a less than legal approach by others who are willing to bring justice to light.
Redemption is not that story. I mean it is, but it isn't. Redemption is the story where those less fortunate, those who are inherently going to lose no matter what they do, get a voice. They deserve a say in how they are treated, and they, as much as the impoverish and the naive, can have the power given back to them.
It's shown with victims like the elderly, the disabled, the people of color, the young who don't quite fit the social norm, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Through Harry Wilson, Redemption also shows us that those with power, need to take responsibility for their actions. It is not enough to fight those in power, but that people like Harry - who do have power, are vitally needed to change the system.
Redemption does not need to see Nate to accomplish this story, but the fact remains that the message Nate started is still here, if not more refined and nuanced than ever before.
Nate should not come back to Redemption because his story was told in OG, and now, a new story can begin where the crew can be expanded and fight for what's right as well as give every victim of an injustice, an opportunity to tell their story as well.
Criminal Minds Incorrect Quotes
~Reader Insert~
Reid: *Screams* Reader: *Screams louder to assert dominance*
Hotch: Should we do something?
Rossi, observing: No, I want to see who wins this.
Rossi: I think we’re missing something.
JJ: Teamwork?
Reid: Concentration?
Prentiss and Morgan: A general sense of what we’re doing?
Prentiss, setting down a card: Ace of spades.
Morgan, pulling out an Uno card: +4
Garcia, pulling out a pokémon card: Jolteon I choose you!
Reid, Trembling: What are we playing?!
I posted this while watching NCIS :)
Growing.
Basically the show
Barnes: You're not to operate this agency without a supervisor.
Lockwood: Not to worry! I have a permit.
I watched the first episode of The Night Agent while I was painting my nails this evening and it is like, THEE most trope-y thing of "woman nearly dies over something she's accidentally tied up in and has no idea what's going on, but a calm and collected under pressure dude helps her through it and even though she's been warned not to trust anyone, she's decided to trust him because otherwise she's alone".
But consider this, I LOVE this trope and I am already strapped in, on board, ready to eat this up.
Like, oh you're gonna be absolutely in control over the phone and talk this lady through where to hide and keep checking in to make sure she's okay? You're gonna keep her safe when people jump out to attack you? You're gonna try and keep her calm while people are shooting at you and gently bandage her minor wound afterwards? You're gonna stay because she asked you to? Because it makes her feel safe? All in the first episode?!?! Sign me TF up. I can't wait until we get to the point where HE gets injured trying to save her and she has to help bandage HIS wounds. Top tier tropes for sure. Love this for me. Sorry I watched The Bourne Identity 700 times as a teen as if it's my fault that movie is a banger.
I’m rewatching rn and this is very accurate
seriously though, something i love about the sarah jane adventures is just how poorly sarah jane manages to be a functional adult. start of the series, she has no friends except an alien computer and a robot dog. she’s fumbling her way through parenting every step of the way. she cannot interact with maria’s dad normally in any way. she takes this bunch of kids and goes, “yeah, you’re about as qualified as i was to start dealing with aliens, how do you feel about being in mortal danger?” the minute she feels like she’s about to lose anyone, she shuts down emotionally and pushes them away. she’s in her late 50s and she’s still figuring her shit out, and i love that for her.
god every time i watch leverage i'm just reminded that like. they didn't HAVE to put in the amount of effort that they did! they didn't NEED to keep nate's storylines about his addiction and his son and his father consistent. they didn't NEED to stretch out the parker/hardison slowburn so elegantly. they didn't NEED to give tara goddamn cole a character arc despite her being in the show for like half a season!
but they did!! they did all of these things!!! and they also dedicated entire episodes to team-building (the rashomon job), they also kept sterling consistent, they also made the goddamn RUNDOWN JOB like. this show did not have to be as good as it is!! but it really is just SO GOOD
Anthony Lockwood my beloved
One of the things I love most about Lockwood is that he is the textbook example of the "one who is scared to love" but instead of being extremely cold and callous all the time like your normal tragic backstory male mc, he can't stop himself from loving.
The thing is, we know he tries. (See THB). He tries to keep everyone at a distance, tries to be cold and calculating, but he can't do it. He wants to be Sherlock Holmes, highly functioning sociopath, but he can't do it.
And it shows up in the smallest ways: how immediately understanding he is of Lucy when she doesn't want to explain what happened at Jacobs' even though he is interviewing her for a job. How he stood up for the bratty nightwatch kid when Ned was bullying him, simply because he didn't like watching someone smaller get picked on. Or when he mercifully changed the bet with Kipps, because at the end of the day it was a petty bet to begin with, and they had just been through so much together, and honestly it didn't matter anymore. There was no reason to humilate anyone. How he will always protect another agent, even if they are Fittes. Heck, he even stands up for the Fittes' agents, saying "they're just kids like us." It's the adults he has beef with.
Lucy mentions that any news of a death by ghost-touch weighs on Lockwood. He is incredibly patient with Danny Skinner and perturbed that a kid this young is in his living room alone.
All three of them think of Lucy as the one with the bleeding heart. She's a Listener, a feeler, the one who is most affected by the past suffering of the ghosts. But that's for the dead.
Lockwood is a bleeding heart for the living. He tries not to be. He hates it. Because caring means risking hurt. Caring means you can lose what you care about. But for as hard as he tries to pretend he doesn't, for as good as he is at acting like nothing can phase him, it does.
Lockwood is scared of loving. But he can't stop.
Eliot and A'Yan.
Leverage S03E12 The King George Job.
Random stuff I love. Currently obsessed with Lockwood and co. Pls go stream it on Netflix we need season 2!!
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