#randomfandom

I kind of hate the new team. not that it’s news that big cast changes usually don’t work out too well, but. I’ve always liked Dembe and do like his increased amount of sarcasm and dry humour, but I preferred him in combo with Red, their dynamic was interesting and somewhat unusual imo. I also struggled af to buy the idea of him being accepted as an FBI agent. sure, Harold knows him to be a good honorable person to some degree. but what reason could he possibly have to trust that Dembe wasn’t still ultimately loyal to Red? that Red, who has always had an agenda with EVERYTHING, had not plotted for Dembe to get accepted into the task force as an agent to get all the insider info? then we have Herbie, who I just find ridiculous. his whole schtick (and more or less only personality trait...) with being easily distracted and getting sidetracked and ranting about some random nerdy topic, and the way the rest of the team will Jim Halpert-look at the camera. admittedly I was never going to easily accept a replacement for Aram since he’s been one of my faves from the start, but even so. and Siya. ugh. she’s so boring and I don’t give a fuck about her sad backstory. ffs, you have to make people care about characters first, then reveal their sad backstories once they care about them and that story will have an impact. with Siya they’re trying to force us to care by presenting her sad story at the same time as the character and I just don’t give a shit. a sad backstory won’t make a boring character interesting. also, what a fucking cynical portrayal of adoption, the way she goes from calling Meera her mom to calling her by her name once she finds out she was adopted, despite it having been made clear that Meera was a great mom who always took care of her and loved her the way any mom would? ffs. I also find the attempt to portray her as tough and hard laughable. pretty shitty casting. compare that with Weecha who I just instantly accepted as able to kill a dude with her bare hands. that aside, the main issue for me is that I don’t think this combo of characters have any chemistry. I kind of enjoy Ressler and Dembe working together, but the rest just lack any interpersonal chemistry whatsoever. on another note, considering that out of a team of five only two are white while the others are poc, am I petty if I complain about the fact that there’s only one woman? (esp. considering that Red and a majority of the side characters are men.) they could have just let Aram’s replacement be a woman. I don’t know. the show obviously should not have gone on after Liz. some shows can work without the original main character, in some cases even better, but tBl was built around Liz and Red’s relationship and dynamic and without it the show feels like a shell. I didn’t particularly love Liz, but she as an individual was secondary to her being part of the show’s core dynamic. I have no idea what people are on about that hated Liz and think the show is better without her. the show is fucking pointless without her and Red’s chaotic but interesting relationship. at least it’s ending with this season but it’s been two seasons too many. they have mostly felt like the show desperately trying to prove there’s a point to its existence even without Liz + Red, and I’m just like... nah.

{{Every time I glance at ghee in the store or see it in a recipe, @chrisflemingfleming‘s grad student appears in my head for exactly 1 second to mansplain it to me. His presence is so palpable.}}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473670

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637206