dying to hear your thoughts on etn s3e9 actually. because holy fuck there is so much there
there is! i love episode nine dearly, actually, and was planning on doing a liveblog about it anyway — so thanks for the opportunity!! please note that, due to me doing this in a discord server, sometimes my dear friend res ( @showgirlcentralstation ) pops in to talk. for convenience, most of those asides will be shown via screenshots. hopefully it’s not too messy to follow!
- lucy’s introduction is infinitely better than the one provided for the twin dolls … i do not care for her much at large mainly because harlequin sterotypes are not my thing but i do enjoy how nicely she fits in with the other lieutenants as a victim of abuse / their environment. also her whole relationship with the carnival master makes me deeply uncomfortable ( ‘no, daddy, not again!’ ) yet i do like that. like i do think they were treading on some very dark but fitting material here and i can’t say i wish they committed more or not but hmmm … given the intense sexuality of this episode i am like. okay so lucy is a sexual assault victim. right
- or at least doesn’t have a good relationship with anyone in general which is interesting LOL … i wonder if her boyfriend was loving or not and how much of the killing she enjoyed / maybe got catharsis from … i mean cutting off someone’s fingers and toes and then leaving parts of them in places to be found certainly feels very pointed. where does the carnival master’s manipulation begin and end etc
- ON TOP OF THAT i did not notice that cm collars her with the artifact before — or i did and just didn’t care but. interesting. does this imply that the collar does long lasting irreversible damage if worn for long? because why would he take it off of her at any point … and the artifacts all change the lieutenants in permanent, horrible ways but lucy remains mostly human looking so? mindbreaking collar? like for real? anyway just stuff to consider i never pay that much attention to lucy so
- also also. acab. like on one hand yeah i’d be the same way over my nephew but also you’re a cop and have no rights much love ( ignore my love for the strongman that’s DIFFERENT okay )
- god damn this episode starts off strong jesus christ not the immediate “and you don’t need me now?” scene phewww boy. so so many things to say. okay! well!
- for starters i do love how this episode picks up pretty much immediately after the last episode in terms of energy. like you can tell that the conversation sort of just died in ep8 only to be picked back up again in this one after they all settled in for their quick regroup … i know this is a ‘poor mat’ scene and i agree but on the other hand i do not blame manny or nikita whatsoever for growing defensive and prickly over his constant grim demeanor. none of them want to be reminded that they still need to lose another person rn! it is just not what they want ; especially for them, when they’re hyperaware that it could be each other. you can tell that manny and nikita don’t mean a word they say here either — their voices are just. lifeless. a little stale almost. these are not points nor ideas they are passionate about because we’ve seen them passionate and this isn’t it! … like manny and nikita get so much flack but frankly they are just exhausted and internally filled with dread and do not want to humor mat’s insistent need to remind them of how bad things still are. which is valid! and frankly characters have been killed for this sort of dark attitude before — notably matt in season one and colleen just a few episodes ago. just because mat isn’t as dramatic doesn’t mean he isn’t similar
LITERALLY! like yes mat we understand the rules of the game we’ve been doing it all night. honestly mat has shown time and time again that he does not want to look on the bright side of this mission whatsoever — he has never had any desire to save everlock nor the people within and while he may sometimes be inclined to indulge in something like happiness or relief it is not how he operates long term at all. his glee for the girl rosanna dies for withers quick and that’s what really kicks him into his whole ‘yeah well someone still has to die rip’ spiel that he cannot drop. meanwhile manny and nikita have both accepted their circumstances long ago ( manny especially ) and are like. relatively happy with saving the town … as much as one can be at the expense of their own lives … honestly most of the group is but mat is so pissed about it always. he does not want to die for this town. he does not want his friends to die for this town. he is so bitter and distrusting in ep8 so it’s not shocking he continues this in ep9 like he truly does not give a fuck. its logical hopelessness vs hopefulness at its best here and it’s not even the sort of match up you’d expect because the ‘good team’ is manny and nikita and the ‘bad team’ is mat … insane
ofc there’s no bad or good team where it concerns philosophy but. you know. it’s about the implications of such ideals … ANYWAY moving on to more of this scene. i am literally not even five minutes in
- “and you don’t need me now? why am i suddenly expendable again?” ah. the most important line for mat’s character. well one of many but A HUUUUGE point that has helped me with his characterization greatly
no yeah like. given nikita’s bretman inclusion i have always personally hc’d nikita as someone who is very desperately trying to move on with her life post everlock. she isn’t the greatest at it but she has relatively accepted it and moved on because she leads her life with her mind and what’s necessary and not with her heart ….. while she is not as touched by the saving everlock aspect as manny was she does accept it as a highlight. like their deaths aren’t in vain and that’s nice, she supposes. but like yeah it’s no wonder her and mat’s relationship is so intense and rocky because his mindset is so different
all of mat’s struggles post s3 can be attributed to his attitude about everlock in general like … he cannot accept the good of it. there is no good to him. it is all bad and horrible. he is plagued by this to an insane degree to the point he’s willing to let strangers die because he’s inherently distrustful and almost blames EVERLOCK for what’s happening …. like. to mat there is no awh we’re saving people! it’s just. my friends are dying. innocent people who didn’t sign up for this are dying. i hate it here and by extension this town. etc.
and in turn he hates the mission etc etc …. he is very overt about all of this i will forever find it funny when people say mat does care about saving everlock but is feigning otherwise because i promise he is not feigning shit lol. his feelings about the mission have stayed consistent since episode two and have only worsened … lets be fr
- “no, no, no, no, don’t worry, you’re not expendable.” joey is like mat is my emotional support dead man walking and i’ll be DAMNED if anyone insults him! … i jest. this episode is one for the joey/mat enjoyers though for sure. we love to see joey fighting for an underdog due to his own projection and we love to see him show his shriveled, definitely rotted heart … s3 joey i love you. you are at your worst and most selfish and yet there are still enough scenes to show us he’s not fully gone yet
- the gays ( manny and joey ) are fighting 😔
- nah but everlock really does want manny though. can we acknowledge that. is it okay to acknowledge that. manny’s consistent brushes with death since episode five really feels integral — he’s gone into a challenge every time since then, minus the maiden of madness which is decidedly not a challenge. but the strongman, the funhouse, the witches, and then this episode where he finally kicks the bucket …. i do not blame him for feeling oddly paranoid or exhausted. i know some fans might say ‘deserved’ because manny survived the funhouse ‘unfairly’ but truly i think he wishes he had just died THERE … and even before that episode, it’s been nonstop. lowkey it’s so easy to view these locations in etn as their own entities that breathe and exist and have intention — even though, usually, they’re just regular places being steered about by evil hands. though when something wants to kill you so bad, when something has a thirst for it, does it matter? is it really his friends manny’s nervous of or is it some higher, unimaginable other? i wonder this a LOT. for manny it’s genuinely less of his friends and more of himself, or circumstances, or luck
- for example, with alex from s2, it’s definitely his friends sending him into all these challenges. MOSTLY. they start to view alex as this top dog who can cull the weaker contestants … and when they’re not sending him in to finish a job, alex is volunteering himself. his end feels more self made. manny’s however is a string of rancid luck and just … this town really wants me dead for some reason! also, joey is hilarious for getting upset about this when he’s the most paranoid, vindictive person alive ( or dead i guess ). man who constantly kills the people who puts him in danger gets mad at man who is angry at constantly being in danger. lmfao
- mat’s insane speech where you think you know where it’s going but then he just SAYS things and you’re like oh what is wrong with you??? he’s like we all deserve to be here! anyway, we ALL suck except nikita lol. you know the girl with whom i fight with the most? her? yeah? well she’s amazing. love her to death actually. his whole speech is so odd that not only does nikita awkwardly and suspiciously accept the praise, but both joey and manny are like ‘uh, anyway, map? yeah. map’
- you cannot tell me that these three are not deeply unnerved by mat right now. nobody has any idea how to handle him and mat maintains this almost manic state throughout the entire episode …… two extremely emotional deaths back to back on top of a messy revival and traumatic murder has probably done him irreparable damage. who could’ve guessed!!
- “new map, new troubles, honey.” manny says, like a smoker
- STRANGE YOU’D EVER FORGET THE NIGHT. sorry. i love this throwaway line. to me this is the thesis of escape the night. i know this is about the clock clue and whatnot, but something about this sentence, this brief glimpse, these words that are in the center of the map … something about it scratches at me in a way that’s unexplainable. maybe because it encapsulates the survivors so aptly for me. something something ‘cause no one truly escapes the night’ something something … this is a tragedy etc
- it’s been awhile since i’ve watched an etn episode so seeing mat move is insane. he LOVES talking with his hands. him making a circle with one hand and pointedly moving where the ‘six’ and other numbers would be on this metaphorical clock … his clap when he realizes what’s going on before rushing to the actual clock itself … he is a Talker and so, so animated. i know this is glaringly obvious in all mat does but sometimes the movements are pointed enough that you’re like ah okay. i see. he isn’t even looking at anyone when making these gestures, he just makes them instinctively
- mat and nikita pointing at cubicles is funny lowkey. they both don’t need to be doing that but then again joey and manny don’t need a third pair of hands to help arrange the artifacts around </3 i bet nikita didn’t know what to do per se so she just angled towards mat and was like yeah, okay, i can order prople around i guess
- the ‘safe’ lounge proving to repeatedly be unsafe since safiya’s death is sooooo? the way everyone is so annoyed about the eighth artifact being in their room!! the illusion was already broken but this is an extra shattering, maybe? just. constantly being reminded that they were never really safe in this place and that’s the THING! the guests are only really protected by the fact that these monsters follow strict guidelines. they have rules and they like these sorts of games, or at least most abide by them anyway. but they do not have to! especially the s3 lieutenants whose master is currently locked away. but like … again, their safety has and always will be a front. it will always be dependent on the monsters they deal with. it’s always a ‘mercy’ of sorts because it would be so easy for the monsters to just kill anyone at any random time. i know it’s not that deep and that the monsters are controlled by rules because it’s better television, and this is a competition show, but … in-universe i find the concept interesting. sue me
- manny just staring at joey as he suggests nikita put the collar on and the second she accepts this suddenly mat has a DIFFERENT suggestion! he’s like we could put the collar, which mentions control btw, on manny. just. are we sure we don’t wanna do that instead. the only explanation for this is that mat either thinks manny would pull off the collar better or that mat, naively, assumed that they could control the person wearing the collar. and he decided he would much rather pilot manny than nikita. i cannot blame him for the latter belief because manny is a physical powerhouse ( which mat is all too aware of! ) but thank god nobody listened to him and just wrote him off as weird or whatever. manny in that collar would’ve been a nightmare to fucking deal with
- the best final four of all time what do you mean these three men are standing around and trying to compliment nikita in a collar made of skin and eyeballs. what do you mean she’s fishing for compliments about it. god even when they’re fighting they are disgustingly supportive about the most stupidest of things ❤️ etn is a comedy ❤️ can these four talk about their feelings and sort out their issues? well NO but they can and will assure their girl that she’s soooo smoking hot in her cursed collar don’t even worry about it girl!
- manny is so worried about nikita :((( he’s like nikita? NIKITA???? immediately trying to grab her before she’s commanded away ….. also him noticing that lucy’s feeding the dog candy …. manny is forever beating the dumb allegations
they are watching nikita about to kiss lucy’s ass i cannot stress enough that this is so funny. joey’s brain isn’t even online rn his reaction is so LATE
me when i see nikita kissing lucy’s ass i guess. INSANE. they are so fucking goofy
- “nikita, can you come here? >:/” mat sounds a little peeved i know he’s so mad lucy made nikita do that. my hero etc
- ah and here’s lucy who just straight up starts sexually assaulting mortimer in front of everyone! again, darker content, darker episode. i do understand why a lot of people are adverse to these themes within etn ( which is primarily a comedy, despite how seriously i personally take it ) but again — i like these darker themes on occasion! personally. especially seeing how uncomfortable it makes the boys almost instantly ; how both manny and mat turn away physically, like, whole body turns, and they even try walking away from it lol. something about it is so different compared to the other horrors they’ve went through and it’s revolting in a new, scary way — lucy is a particularly horrible monster tbh. her just groping mortimer is so …. augh … making nikita kiss her ass, humiliating them both, laughing about it … it was almost childish before but now it’s oddly real and hard to swallow. again, i don’t think etn should do this all the time, but i like the occasional introduction of something like this here and there. disturbing as it is
- calliope stays a girl failure. she can’t do anything right … i love her to death but she picks fights and gets her ass beat everytime ADJAKDKAS … girl stand down. fr
- mortimer going ‘we got to go, manny!’ and reaching out for manny’s hand, and manny just like. blindly, almost clumsily, offers his arm so mortimer grabs his wrist and they run … i do find it charming, i’m afraid. meanwhile matkita is out here winning with the whole hand splaying right above mat’s belt and nikita very visibly dragging him by his tie like it’s a leash … i love sexuality in horror <3 yippee
- manny is so smart. i never want to see claims of his uselessness again! he is completely by himself with no aid, no help — trapped in a drugstore with a demon dog — and he still manages to come out on top because he cleverly stuffed his pockets full of candy earlier due to!! his observation!! then he locks the demon dog in there and makes a beeline for the mailbox … does all this while thinking on his feet and scared shitless mind you
- “calliope, you’re okay.” OUGH … manny says that so sweetly <3 my boy!! then he rushes to her and, despite acknowledging she’s fine ( or alive, at least ), begins asking if she’s okay : are you okay? calliope not even answering and instead asking about the others … to which manny has no idea!! like he really is so alone at the moment. he has no idea what happened to mat or joey and nikita is some mindless pet now. mortimer was grabbed too and all he has is himself and suddenly an injured calliope …. i think this is the most independent he’s ever been? maybe the most alone anyone this season has been besides, like, mat later on in the crypts
- “use that core! use those ab workouts, man!” once again we love to see support for the most mild of things. all joey’s doing is trying to heft beanbags into a bucket with his legs and mat is acting like they’re at a rally or he’s spotting joey during a workout ……
- joey : mothertrucker hell —
mat, giggling : watch your language.
joey, in the most snide voice ever : mothertrucker is watching my language.
- mat said i’m going to project my savior complex i’m rapidly developing onto a stuffed horse and try to assuage my intensifying guilt over losing everyone i have ever loved as well as myself by saving blanche. surely, this isn’t concerning whatsoever and his sudden surge of passion about this means nothing at all
- if there’s one thing mat’s gonna do it is making fun of gay people. like he didn’t need to comment on being glad that joey can recognize boobs but he did anyway <3
- manny belatedly copying mat’s hand movement is endearingly cute. mat is like so we all need to touch, and he puts a hand out to emphasize that, and then manny reaches his own out to copy only to be a second or so late … manny does this a lot actually if i remember correctly. copying little movements like that
- ohhh not that little disgusted look from manny when he realizes they have a CHOICE to save nikita or not …. his mouth quirks incredulously and his eyes flash almost … there is no way he would’ve ever let mat and joey leave nikita to her fate like that
- like yup manny immediately jumped to nikita’s defense and when he got at least joey’s agreement he quickly pivots to talking about the church instead … he doesn’t even let mat say anything about it, manny’s just like yup, we’re saving nikita. i don’t care. i can’t imagine leaving here without her. and i’m like ….. oh manny’s death. oh the tragedy of it
- joey said we can’t go there!! the carnival master is there!! and mat is like ( through barely concealed rage ) is that not the guy we’re supposed to defeat. is that not him joey. he is SOOO frustrated by this sudden fear from the savant. he really says “that’s the whole point.”
- humilation torture central starring mortimer! whump fanfic writers love to see him i’m sure
- them all specifically having to touch nikita and basically hold her until the collar pops off … hm!! something about that given this whole episodes theme
- mat’s rapid reassuring patting that he gives to manny instead of nikita LMFAO … he’s so out of it atm that he can’t even be assed to properly offer his condolences or whatnot. meanwhile nikita comes straight out of her violent posession pissed off and already concerned about missing earrings and her wig … iconic as always. all the boys going ‘wow you’re a bitch’ like. well yes!! ( also i know most of my notes are just me laughing at these dynamics but like. c’mon now )
- “oh, you can’t come in!” mat immediately resorting to MOCKING the demon dog … he’s so funny i’m sorry he is the biggest bitch ever. he’s no different than nikita or manny i promise. they are all bonding rn over taunting this thing that desperately wants to kill them — at least until manny decides there has to be a limit to their mocking because they might have to go outside
- manny and nikita being so oddly mad about being handcuffed together is hilarious like. what’s the problem. would you rather be handcuffed to joey? matthew? they’re literally best friends yet take being stuck together worse than mat and joey did
- mat randomly having candy in his pockets … i’m trying to look closely to see if there’s ever a moment where manny gives him any but?? there’s nothing?? where did he get that. honestly, this is why etn is a gold mine for ‘missing scenes’ because there was definitely a scene where manny remembered the candy and handed it over and told mat what he had noticed — mat hasn’t been to the drug store since episode three iirc? so?
- regardless mat saying they’re all so exhausted … yeah </3 they really have been running around for hours, experiencing nonstop adrenaline straight to the heart, shock, etc. that shit takes a toll!! i was going to make fun of joey for giving up on the demon dog so quickly but genuinely these peoples’ legs are on the verge of giving out at any opportunity you just know it. the aches and pains the survivors will have tomorrow will be unmatched
- “i get suckered in,” mat admits, sheepishly. his willingness to bond with anything so long as it shows even the slightest hints of interest is SOOO
- not mat belatedly realizing that the note meant a human snack and he’s like “maybe — oh, shoot.” his sudden hesitance to voice this thought because he desperately doesn’t want to put manny and nikita in danger like that … man who sadly gives a fuck! like. i think ep9 shows this a fair amount but so much of etn is truly about how these people aren’t evil or even malicious really, they’re just emotional and reacting upon these intense emotions … none of these characters actually hate each other or want one another dead. if there’s a chance to save someone ( nikita, in this case ) then they’ll take it and take it gladly … but there’s usually not that choice. and so things get muddled and insane instead. this is important!! especially for mat who. hm!! well. we all know what he does later
- “don’t apologize to him!” joey is pro revenge, pro murder
- something is so wrong with mat good GOD. him murdering the demon dog while apologizing profusely, then saying he didn’t actually feel remorseful at all and enjoyed killing it, to sympathizing with lucy’s anger, to then saying ( almost gleefully mind you ), “might as well just put her out of her misery then, huh?” …. mat truly has no idea what he feels or thinks i’m losing it … he killed one thing and now he’s slamming between the two ranges of human emotion : delight and sorrow 😭
- ohhh i forgot how absolutely devestated they all are about seeing their cards and a fucking voting table … there’s this immediate spike of panic and despair and joey’s all like “guys, i thought there was going to be a twist. i didn’t think this was going to happen again.” SIGHS! mat ripping his glasses off and just giving this bitter i told you so in the face of all this … but you can kinda tell mat forgot about the voting stuff too until now, despite how hard he clung to this final sacrifice and loss earlier. ugh
- it has been so long since i’ve watched etn so i can’t remember if there’s similar reactions to the ep9 voting in the other seasons but i don’t think so? like … and if not then joey of all people being surprised and upset about this says A Lot to me. again, s3’s group is very much a bonded one, there are so many emotional connections and ties despite the occasional animosity!! they work the best together as a team and unit!! and even joey got caught up in that. while they’ll do what they always do here and vote for themselves as an act of love and mercy ( a time honored tradition for ep9, besides in s4 ) it is so telling that joey didn’t expect this at all. like. joey of all people. was it the revival of mat that got his hopes up? was it safiya’s unfair death that broke every rule he ever knew? was it them being able to save nikita? why didn’t joey think this would happen! it always happens! they all got so caught up in their hopes and the act of saving people and each other and prevailing in the face of danger that they forgot the death that’s always looming overhead and it’s so fucked. so so fucked :(
- mat said anyway i’m still achingly tender and bruised from our earlier arguments about how i should die again or whatever. and this WILL drive the rest of my actions in this episode alas … seeing those cards and knowing what lies ahead really pressed on his wounds and reopened them sigh
- i DO wonder what nikita was going to say before joey’s ‘vote ourselves in’ plan. she’s like “i don’t want to be That person right now”, and i’m sooo curious about what she wanted to say. although, again, i do love nikita always stepping up, ready to do the hard part … the part that nobody else here really wants to do. manny’s dead quiet, joey’s rambling about how tough this all is, and mat’s brimming with anger but he’s not pointing any fingers, really. they’re just aimless and so nikita was probably going to take charge, make the hard decision, etc — until joey thankfully came through with his tried and true ep9 plan
- manny and nikita getting drawn is so foul and devestating and always will be, but is also the most poetic, infuriatingly tragic event ever actually ….. the immediate despair and then anger from the two of them, the shock and sympathy pangs from joey and mat initally …. mat is like i did say once upon a time that this is the worst possible outcome. besides me going into the challenge, obviously. and this is still true!
- SLIGHTLY BETTER LUCK TO MANNY!!!! mat said despite my praises for nikita earlier i do have a favorite. slightly better luck to manny is revolutionary actually. if you ever shipped these two that line feels like a shot of cocaine or something i promise
- anyway i could talk about mat’s whole snide pettiness here for hours and hours ( and i have! ) but anyone who genuinely thinks that mat is a.) right for his assessment about nikita’s and manny’s feelings over safiya and MUCH LESS ro, or b.) genuinely thinks mat feels this way are people i don’t understand. this actually has nothing to do with ro or safiya and so much more to do with, again, their earlier arguments and clashing. you can even see him getting all hurt about it during the voting section with his mini spiral about his supposedly ‘certain’ fate … it’s about that. his insecurity within the group suddenly. him feeling unwanted and unloved and spited. it’s about mat being terrible at managing his emotions much less his thoughts or feelings and so it all spills into this big confusing pile of — stuff. is mat probably upset about the reactions to safiya’s and ro’s deaths? sure. but this is so much more than that and also mat is such a dick for this lol. again, there is nothing really seperating him from nikita or manny in terms of morals, besides his own imaginary lines
- GO, MANNY!!! mat’s so fucking silly
- mat rather firmly rooting for manny besides shouting out vague encouragements to ‘find those keys’ and then here’s joey who is oscillating between cheering for both manny and nikita … fun little differences
- manny was lowkey killing this shit … rip to a king. but also mat, OF ALL PEOPLE, going “there’s that strongman!” i’m like. if i was manny i would be so certain mat hates my guts and blames me for his death or something but no mat just. really likes complimenting manny on the whole strongman thing. like a weirdo
- KILL YOURSELF OR KILL YOUR FRIEND. YOU DECIDE HOW THIS ENDS. god this truly was the best challenge of all time … peak
- manny :((( no but how traumatic must it be to have your best friend in the whole wide world literally say “i love you” as she decides to shoot you multiple times in the chest lol. manny holding up his hands and saying that nikita’s not going to shoot him … she’s just not … how he doesn’t even sound sure himself … </3
- the detective is the fakest idgafer because wdym you’re cracking jokes about it rn because not even a second ago you were WAILING “you shot him?! you shot him!”
- nikita hyperventilating “i murdered him,” and just hugging herself as she’s frantically swept up in mat and joey’s pushing and fast reassurances … tired of the ‘nikita is a heartless monster’ takes. she is also a fake idgafer. this is why her and mat either swimmingly get along or fight like nobody’s business
- not mortimer BOWING to the carnival master ….. what kind of dymamic is this 🤨
- “i can smell the stench of the society all over you. they called you into a war that’s not yours.” okay wait banger ass line but also the carnival master is genuinely just right. he’s so right. fuck the sae always … oh and also rip calliope and mortimer i guess
well. that’s that then. sadly i do not find the end of ep9 all too memorable … but this was still a fun watch! i kind often forget how good of a manny episode this is because manny is such a quiet guy surprisingly. he’s just not obtrusive like mat and nikita and even joey sometimes are … anyway. ugh. rip to the best final four in all of etn i’m sure seeing manny and nikita together again in the mini series won’t be heartbreaking at all! and, of course, thanks again for the ask + wanting my thoughts specifically <3
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