#incoherent screeching

SO MUCH FEAR THE WHOLE TIME

I knew that they weren’t going to escape cause the whole thing is about the comfort of a still life and escaping kinda ruins that. I definitely believe they won’t ever get out.

That said, I was of two minds when it came to Abel. A kind of hope for the best prepare for the worst. I did believe that he wasn’t an NPC, mainly due to his appearance in episode six. Plus the flash backs were something we’ve never seen from an NPC before. While I’m accepting for now that he is an NPC I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out he was a person just cause of how Caine got rid of him was very different from Gummigoo. That’s more of a conspiracy belief though.

For most of the episode when I believed Abel was a human, I definitely didn’t trust him. Some of the things he said were just off. Mainly him not trusting Kinger and that “make the right choice” thing.

Side tangent for that line, I thought it was going to be a I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream thing where one has to stay behind and be sacrificed so the others can be free and Abel wanted them to sacrifice Kinger and was worried they’d sacrifice him.

Seeding that distrust and distance was definitely intentional by Caine. He knows Kinger has been sharing too much and can’t let the others know what he does.

Scratch, the first abstraction. This was mentioned right after Caine talked about how bad it would be if he messed with people’s minds too much. What if abstractions happen when Caine tries to manipulate their minds too much. It often accompanies them becoming obsessive about the exit because Caine gets afraid that they are unhappy and wants to force make them happy. Kinger escaped this by leaning into the silly little guy who doesn’t know what’s going on (whether he is aware of this survival instinct or not is yet to be seen). He acts happy and content except in the darkness, hidden away from Canie.

Jax. Oh Jax. Well to start, congrats to all who predicted Jax abstraction. Ribbit’s hands terrified me. I also thought Jax had gotten his hands on some stupid sauce and was tripping. I don’t know if Jax is going to make it to the end. Those flashbacks of the “macroverse” streets… (also Caine being aware that he’s no longer getting instructions and knowing that something is wrong or weird about it and wanting to know more). Seeing Jax come apart like that at the end. I don’t like how he treats the other circus members and I think that needs to change but he did have a point in ep 6. Him treating everything like a game and a joke in a way keeps the others from taking anything too seriously. He’s constantly in their faces reminding them it’s all a game (in a very asshole-ish way). Without that, who knows, they all may settle and embrace the circus as real. (This is not me approving of Jax’s actions, he could keep them from treating the circus as real in nicer ways). And that might be how this series ends. They give up on the macroverse and embrace their circus lives. Happiness in a stagnant life.

Also Caine being just as trapped as them. At first I was like okay, yeah makes sense. He was made for the game whatever. But then when he brought out the pictures and mentioned being cut off from the macroverse… he’s just as confused as the players and he also wants answers!!!!

Me:

like wdym the guy who created AND voices my favourite character ever Badaboom REBLOGGED MY POST ABOUT ME SLEEP TALKING ABOUT HIM!??!??!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE LIKED TWO OF MY POSTS ABOUT MY OC FROM ONE OF HIS SERIES!??!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE INTERACTS WITH HIS FANBASE?!?!?

im so autistic (diagnosed btw) about Escaped's series (mainly mgfl and tnjr/thr) i get so giddy when people interact with me and ask questions about Veronica or just Escaped popping in like once a week like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ive never been such a big fan about something ever so i guess this is just me saying how thankful i am that i stumbled upon tnjr cause its changed my life for the better

and i KNOW escaped is gonna see this, so HELLO. STOP WITH THE NOTIFICATION JUMPSCARES. but also dont cause it makes my day

OKAY IDK IF ANYTHING IVE SAID MAKES SENSE BUT WE ROLL

This episode. This fucking episode. First of all, me and some friends watched The Warriors (1979) - the film Colin references at the start of the episode and the inspiration for the episode's overall plot and premise - a few weeks ago and I have been feral ever since at the Implications and Possibilities. But in the end, I knew they couldn't give us EVERYTHING that a 90-minute movie gave in 25-30 minutes. There are the things I desperately wanted, in order of most to least:

Guillermo being confronted with the vampires and his slayer family and choosing to go with the vampires once and for all.

Guillermo and Nandor argument while broken away from the group that ends in a feverish kiss (yes, I knew this was a very remote possibility, but it was a nonzero chance, Swan/Mercy is SO Nandermo coded!!!).

Guillermo fight scene, Nandor fight scene, OR Guillermo and Nandor fighting back to back against a horde of vampires.

The death of fucking Jerry.

Either no Guidor at all or a solid rejection from The Guide.

A bunch of themed vampire covens facing off with our beloved Staten Island vampires.

Just a big wide-lens look at vampire society overall, maybe with some cool cameos from other vampire media again.

Fun costumes and direct references to the movie beyond just the plot, whether in filming style, music choices, specific lines, etc.

And here's the thing. This episode gave me MOST of what I wanted, some of it in ways I didn't expect, and the only thing it DIDN'T give me that I desperately wanted was the Swan/Mercy parallels with Nandermo. But then...it honestly kind of did still? It was SUCH an episode.

Like I said NONE of this is coherent but once again, Colin Robinson being the MVP of little asides that are so fucking funny when you catch them. Nadja killing spree my ABSOLUTE beloved. More Ladja talking through some of their issues and being thee married couple of all time. THE GOOD GUIDOR i.e. Nandor finally tries to make a move and gets shut down SO hard, with the Guide EXPLICITLY positioning herself as just another check in Nandor's long-standing pattern of chasing after relationships that won't ever work long-term.

And all the vampire family talk! First, Nandor saying Guillermo isn't part of the family anymore (HELLUVA WAY TO FIND OUT HE EVER WAS LMAO) and the rest of them chiming in and egging him on about how he's made it SO clear he wants nothing to do with the vampire world. And what I love is how soundly it reads as utter bullshit. OF COURSE he's still part of the family. They all know it, and so does he honestly.

That's why he doesn't even hesitate later when he says Nandor's his best friend. That's why they immediately call him when they need help, and he of course immediately runs to help them. If anything, that was ONCE AGAIN Nandor trying to get Guillermo to insist on his place at Nandor's side (a la THE LAST THREE SEASONS) and this time the whole family backed him up on it and Guillermo STILL didn't take the bait. Because Guillermo doesn't need to insist on it, he knows where he really belongs and fits. He practically said it himself when he was talking to Miguel about Familia.

And then Nandor being so delighted to meet Miguel...having heard and remembered stories Guillermo has told him about Miguel...saying Guillermo's family are their family and of course Nandor and the others would never hurt him.

AND THE RETURN OF SLAYER MEMO. The way Nandor looked at Guillermo when he killed that guy with a fucking No. 2 pencil. The way they all not only trusted that Guillermo could handle it without them, but also were having such a great time watching and calling out encouragement (Colin again my beloved).

GUILLERMO TELLING MIGUEL ABOUT VAMPIRES AND MIGUEL BEING COOL ABOUT IT. Miguel being ride or die for his primo despite clearly thinking he's lost his mind.

EVERY SINGLE FUCKING OUTFIT. YANA CAMEO MY BELOVED. ALEX SKARSGARD. ALL THE VAMPIRE GANGS WERE SO FUNNY AND PERFECT. FUCKING JERRY IS FUCKING DEAD.

They gave me basically everything I wanted except Nandermo making out in a tunnel as a train rushes by them. But like. I always knew that was Unlikely lol (still, I do have Thoughts and Feelings about it but. Eh...I'm not going to let it ruin my enjoyment of the episode, not with Nandor and Guillermo giving each other all those fucking heart eyes and basically reaffirming that they're family, and Nandor MEETING YET ANOTHER MEMBER OF GUILLERMO'S FAMILY AND BEING ACCEPTED. Introducing his bf in increments).

And the Baron being absolutely on top of his shit, the hair, the robes, the plan, the several kids and a doting husband at home...He is Everything.