Yet Another Sansa Stan Being An Alicent Stan Lmao You Guys Need To Stop Being So Predictable. I Don't

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Les Miserables 2018 Reactions

Episode One

A title card gives a brief summary of the situation in France before dropping us into the day after the Battle of Waterloo, when the “glory” of battle is over and the gore remains. 

 Rather fitting for a series translated to The Miserable (or Wretched) Ones.

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Gorgeous!

Your kiss of life has opened my eyes

The place where my heart breaks, you have mended

Your gift of love has given me life

My sorrow and heartache, you have ended…

I’m reading Katherine by Anya Seton

and I’m torn.

On one hand, the attention to detail is breathtaking.  Seton has fully immersed me in the 14th century, palaces and plagues and all.  Geoffrey Chaucer’s brief appearances are delightful.  The friendships Katherine forms with the other women in her life are a driving force for most of the first half of the book.  Not to mention this gem:

“I am no duchess, no queen, but I have been your equal in love, for this I dare to tell you how I feel.”

On the other hand…

The romance.  

I’m over two-hundred pages in, and Katherine just seems so miserable with John.  They’ve barely had a conversation about something other than how they love each other…and I cannot stress how few meaningful interactions they have had leading up to their affair.  

He comes onto her as soon as his wife—her friend—dies, then even stronger as her husband is dying.  

And when they finally get together, he’s in talks to get married the entire time.  Their “honeymoon” overlooks his future fiancee’s homeland.

He just steamrolls her hesitations and ignores how becoming his mistress decimates her sense of self-worth.  And then he gives her his deceased wife’s ring as a symbol of their love!

Every declaration of love or step forward in their relationship involves her crying and hating herself and her situation, and he is infuriatingly oblivious.

I get that a book published in the 1950′s would have faced backlash if Katherine actively pursued John.  And I’m sure the references to sex caused a scandal when it was first published…but I’d rather have the heroine enjoying the hero and their relationship than simply giving up.

Let’s hope the third-act break-up will lead to Katherine putting her foot down and John recognizing that she is his equal, not just in love, because right now, their “romance” reads less like a love story and more like harassment.

We need another more mature adaptation, even if it’s clearly only for older kids/teens/adults with all of the details the TV series and family-friendly books choose to overlook or quietly sweep under the rug because it wasn’t family-friendly.

How Little House on the Prairie Butchered Almanzo Wilder

From Micheal Landon to Dean Butler, this list will explore everything wrong- and right- with the portrayal of Almanzo Wilder.

(In all fairness, I don’t think Butler has as much to do with this ghastly portrayal of his on-screen character as those who worked behind the scenes. He also admitted he tried his hardest to insure “the audience knew Laura would be safe with him” which came across well on screen.)

We never see his heroic act of saving De Smet

While Dean Butler saves the blind school by working two jobs, we never see Almanzo’s legendary journey to save the town. The real Almanzo Wilder and his brother Royal hoarded grain during the hard winter of 1880-1881 until Charles Ingalls, Laura’s father, confronted them about it. It was then that Almanzo and a close friend, Cap Garland, went in search of wheat to feed their starving town. They made the treacherous journey and managed to save the town, including Laura’s family.

It was a pivotal point in one of Laura’s novels, The Long Winter, and is ultimately the reason why Almanzo is deemed worthy of Laura. The audience sees him save the blind school and become seriously unwell because of that, but they never see his true defining moment.

We don’t see his second heroic act of taking Laura out of a volatile situation

In order to help support her family, Laura became a teacher. It meant she had to travel outside of her home town and board near the school. This meant she had to stay in the only homestead with enough space. The owners, the Bouchies, did not welcome her with open arms. Instead, Laura recalls Mrs Bouchie being sullen and being both aggressive towards her and Mr Bouchie. She also recalls Mrs Bouchie threatening her husband with a knife, proclaiming she wanted to go “back east”. In Laura’s books, she changes their surname to “Brewster”, but the story remains more or less the same.

To take her home each weekend, Almanzo would drive her home regardless of weather. For Laura, she was glad to leave the dangerous household, even if it meant braving Dakota blizzards.

This act of kindness continued for the entire time Laura taught at that school. She made it clear that she was only going with him to see her family, and that she did not reciprocate whatever he felt for her. He continued, and eventually she did fall for him.

He’s whinny, immature and acts like a petulant child

The real-life Almanzo Wilder was calm, persistent and reasonable. He never demanded anything of Laura, and even admired how independent she was. He never demanded anything from her, and remained patient when attempting to court her.

While we see this with Dean Butler’s portrayal in later seasons, he acts controlling and stubborn. This is particularly clear when Laura is forced to make a choice between her Pa and Almanzo, and he forces her to choose.

We never see any of his gifts to Laura

The beautiful pantry he made for her in their little house remained absent throughout the television series. Not only this, but the little slay he made for their dog to pull for Laura was also missing. He made it so she could still ride about in the snow while pregnant, which she used every day. Laura, at eighteen, would tumble of the sled into the snow, laughing and acting like the young woman she was. In fact, the one day she didn’t he became concerned at her sudden need for rest. It turned out that Laura was in labour with her first child, and he soon called the doctor.

In the adaptation we don’t get to see any of this, but why?

We don’t see their relationships for what it was

For the most part the audience doesn’t see their 19th century relationship. Almanzo peruses Laura even though she makes it clear she only goes with him on sleigh rides to get to the Bouchie school and back. He continued the strenuous journey for her benefit, proving what kind of man he really is.

We never see the exchange they have, the night he drove her home from the Bouchie’s during a deathly blizzard. He makes the trip and brings her home, keeping her awake during the trip so she doesn’t fall asleep- as Laura puts it, if you fall asleep in those temperatures, you don’t wake back up. He even later admits to being in “two minds” about it, and how Cap Garland encourages him with the line “God hates a coward.” Laura asks him if he really went to get her on a dare, yet he tells her “”No, it wasn’t a dare,” Almanzo said. “I just figured he was right.””

The audience also never sees how their first house together burned to the ground, and how Laura was terrified of his reaction - “what will Manly say to me?” The relief that he isn’t furious with her, but instead finds her on the ground and comforts her is also absent, taking the heart of the story with it.

Dean Butler’s portrayal, in the early years, would have probably left Laura at the Bouchie school and later screamed at her for burning down their house (or maybe just stormed out of town.)

We don’t see his famous pancakes

A large part of the later Little House books is Almanzo and his brother and their perfect pancakes. Sure, it’s a minor detail, but we all wanted to try them. (Where’s the recipe, Laura?)

Or his elder brother, for that matter

Royal isn’t actually a part of the television series as he only shows up twice- two different actors with three different children. He’s simply an add-on to the Ingalls-Wilder storyline.

The real Royal Wilder was a bachelor for the entirety of the book series. He was supportive of Almanzo and Laura and went as far as to care for them when they came down with Diphtheria.

Laura’s bout of diphtheria is also absent

While the television series does show Almanzo’s sickness Laura doesn’t show any symptoms. Laura, in fact, was the one who first developed symptoms and their daughter was already born. While Laura was unwell, Rose was sent to her grandparents and Almanzo cared for her until, he too, became sick. It was then that Royal came to take care of them as he was a bachelor and had no family himself.

Laura, was in fact, the sickest. She describes it as “severe” whereas Almanzo only suffered mild symptoms. She wrote, “Laura’s attack had been dangerous, while Manly’s was light.”

Almanzo’s “stroke” was also not portrayed correctly. Instead, after his illness, he went to get up one morning and found his legs could not carry him. It was mentioned that after rubbing them, circulation returned and he was able to go into town to see the doctor. He was told it was “a stroke of paralyse” and was most likely a complication of diphtheria.

Almanzo’s encouragement

Laura was often encouraged by Almanzo, even if it was unintentional. He asked her to drive Barnum, instead of telling her to “go back to the kitchen”. When Almanzo went to his parent’s farm for Christmas, he lent her Lady and the buggy so she could go for rides still. He even let her buy her own colt, and is part of the reason why she wrote the series.

We don’t see him encourage Laura to be who she is. He strikes the word “obey” from their vows, and tells her about how no decent man would keep that word in there. Laura isn’t a suffragette, but it’s a feminist moment in its own right.

Michael Landon, why turn a perfectly reasonable pioneer into a controlling husband? Sure, he’s “protective” but why make him even more backwards than an actual pioneer?

He often acted impulsively, but not selfishly

The real AJ Wilder is boyish, ambitious and adventurous. He isn’t always wise- he’s a true hero when it comes to saving the town, but at the same time he is risking his own life. He drives Laura through a deadly blizzard even against better judgement, just because he can’t see anything worse than being labelled a coward. He encourages a young woman to drive a “runaway” horse through town. He lets his heavily pregnant wife play in the snow, with a dog and sled. He drives their baby and Laura to her parents’ house during the winter because she missed them, and her family are furious that they took the risk.

Instead, we see a farmer who carries out impulsive acts differently. Almanzo’s real acts were selfless, whereas the character’s actions are nothing short selfish.

Dean Butler just didn’t look like Almanzo

Finally, the real Manly had brown hair and couldn’t have been further from Dean Butler appearance. It’s a small thing, but it is a little bothersome for die-hard fans.

I think their first kiss was sweet. He just went for it! It’s Brienne’s first time, of course it’s going to be a little awkward...that’s why I loved it! Brienne’s so cute!

GUYS, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAPPENS?!

Really: first of all this horrible kiss scene?! Where is this tenderness between them? Nik and Gwen played it as good as they could, but scenarists just should be burned.

And then, when Jaime left her alone. She begged him to stay, but he left. WHAT?! Is that our honorable Jaime Lannister, who returned to Harrenhall and jumped into the bear pit?! No, this is the Jaime Lannister I want to kill. He made my baby girl cry and I will never forgive it. I will if only Jaime will kill Cercei by himself!

I’m just so disappointed bc of this episode(including Missandey’s death). I really hope they’ll make things better in next two episodes, and we’ll forget about this one as a nightmare.

WOMEN’S HISTORY † LOUISE DE LORRAINE (30 April 1553 – 29 January 1601)

Louise de Lorraine was the only surviving child of Nicolas de Lorraine, duc de Mercœur and his first wife, Marguerite d’Egmont. Her mother died when Louise was a baby and her father remarried to Jeanne de Savoie-Nemours in 1555, by whom he had six children, two of whom died young. Jeanne proved to be a loving and caring stepmother who ensured that young Louise received a good education. Jeanne died in 1568 and her father married a third time to Catherine de Lorraine, the granddaughter of Claude de Lorraine, duc de Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. Catherine, who was only three years older than Louise, was reportedly unfond of all of her stepchildren. Regardless, by reaching adulthood, Louise was recognized as an ideal beauty of the times with blonde hair and fair skin. In 1573, Henri, duc d’Anjou, the third surviving son of Henri II and Caterina de’ Medici, paid a visit to Charles III, duc de Lorraine on his way to claim the crown of Poland. Louise was present at this gathering and Henri was immediately taken with her, supposedly because of her great resemblance to Marie de Clèves. After the death of his older brother in 1574, Henri returned to France to claim the throne. Henri originally planned to marry Marie, but she died shortly afterwards of pneumonia or complications of childbirth, leaving Henri heartbroken, though aware that he had to marry to father heirs. His mother wanted him to marry Elisabet Vasa, but Henri sought Louise’s hand instead and they married 15 February 1575, two days after his coronation. Caterina was initially uneasy about her sons’ choice, as Louise was the cousin of Guises, but she changed her mind after meeting Louise. Louise and Henri appear to have genuinely loved each other, but despite their hopes, they were childless. She made numerous pilgrimages to pray for children, but none were born, causing her great grief. She was also greatly upset about her husband’s conflicts with her half-brother, Philippe-Emmanuel, a diehard supporter of the Catholic League and prayed constantly for reconciliation between them, though she was disappointed in this, too. She was generally well-liked by her subjects for her generosity and charity. Henri was assassinated 1 August 1589 by Jacques Clément in revenge for his ordering the assassinations of Henri de Lorraine, duc de Guise and Louis II de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise. Louise was grief-stricken at his death and went to work trying to reverse the excommunication he had received. She begged his successor, Henri IV, to punish Catherine-Marie de Lorraine, the sister of the Guise brothers, who had openly boasted about her involvement in the assassination of Louise’s husband, but he didn’t, though both he and Louise were probably relieved when Catherine died in 1596. Louise spent the rest of her life residing in the Château de Chenonceau. She died 29 January 1601 and was buried in a convent in Capuchins. In the 19th century, however, her remains were moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Her niece, Françoise, married Henri IV’s favorite illegitimate son, César, duc de Vendôme.

Bran and Sam should have written A Song of Ice and Fire. Sam wrote the prose and Bran did all the research. 

Bran should have been either King of the North, Master of Whispers (with his own army of literal little birds to replace Varys), or an advisor to the new king or queen of Westeros, not king himself. 

‘Who has a better story than bran the broken?’ is blatant meera and jojen reed erasure (osha and hodor as well). Osha busted them out of winterfell, jojen showed up with his green dreams to guide them to the three eyed raven, and meera dragged his ass home after. The only thing bran managed to do is touch the night king and get a bunch of people killed (including the last living members of an entire species). Bran in general has very little agency in his own story. Jaime throws him out the window, robb leaves him in charge, theon takes the castle, the three eyed raven decides to train him. Even when he finally seems like he might actually do something in the battle with the dead, he just doesn’t.

I saw the point made that if the idea had been that the person with the most stories, that knows the most history, should be king, then this might work a little better. A 'those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it’ type thing. But as it stands, it’s such a ridiculously unsupported choice.

This show deserves more love. 

I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to see this movie. Then I saw the third screenshot. Well I’m sold.

“Then I would leap over these logs!” Boooooiiiiiiiing! 

Here's the best part of 1995's Jefferson in Paris