#rue rants

It’s just bad writing. Period. They were so focused on the ~vibes~ of rockstar Lestat’s surrealist cocaine ridden fever dream docu that they manage to horrifically mangle the characters and their storylines while Rolin and Hannah insisted on lauding the show as some sort of achievement. And an achievement indeed it is when they managed to take something crafted with so much love and alienated a good chunk of their fans in an effort to distance themselves from the image of theirs being a black queer show.

Narratively speaking, nothing ever happens. Ever. You’d think a show needs to story to actually happen except they’re dropping random lines whenever so that we know shit did happen but we never see anything happen. Nothing seems to have a reason, no semblance of any character or plot arc, no cohesiveness in all the events. It feels like throwing random dialogues and scenes against a wall, hoping that it turns out to be Monet except surprise surprise! It doesn’t work that way! Seven episodes, each almost 45 mins long and there’s no hint of a story, no information revealed, no plot started or loose threads tied. What exactly did they do all this while then?

The characters have been reduced to caricatures, robbed of all complexity and depth that made us like them in the first place. It feels as though someone watched the pilot and went off writing their own fanfic of the show, except that would be an insult to fan fiction because they at least have a plot and coherence. TVL has none. They fuck, they cry, they’re made to suffer, all of them forced into passive actors in their own fucking story by the writers. How ridiculous is that. None of the characters do anything; they all have smth or the other done to them. New characters are introduced but none of their existence is ever explained, or even their relation to the other characters. I wouldn’t have known what was happening at all had i not been familiar with the book canon.

And really the argument about whether or not it’s faithful to the book canon is long dead now. The book canon no longer matters; they’ve already diverged a lot. This is very much a critique of the show as itself instead of an adaptation.

both of them have character traits which complete the other: kalim is optimistic and empathetic (good for bonding with others, helping them navigate their feelings, and providing hope for them), jamil is reality-grounded and level-headed (good for detecting potential problems and resolving current ones); kalim is overly trusting and incredibly unqualified (bad because it makes him easy to exploit and frustrating to deal with), jamil is paranoid and unempathetic (bad because it makes him come off as very unlikeable at times and results in him using others without much remorse).

kalim provides emotional comfort, jamil provides physical comfort. very cloth mother vs wire mother of them. except, of course, for a healthy dorm balance you need both the solace and the nutrition.

because they enhance each other, they also bring out the worst in each other.

much of jamil's identity is inseparably connected to his status as a servant and the resentment he feels about it. kalim's kindness and forgiveness enable jamil to keep on venting his frustrations cruelly (by asserting his own usefulness as a servant through prohibiting kalim from acquiring actual life skills, rejecting kalim's numerous attempts to resolve whatever it is he can sense is bothering jamil, and unjustly insulting him) rather then productively (by stating his boundaries, drawing the lines, and making direct demands instead of passive aggressive quips).

similarly, because kalim's identity is so tied to his upbringing and status as an heir, he does not recognize the disparity between the two of them and takes jamil's insults in stride, as benevolently as somebody like him should. jamil suffering in silence and stewing in fear prevents kalim from doing something to rectify the wrongs (by finally separating jamil the friend from jamil the helpful servant, which he views as the same) and sanitize the wound (instead of letting it fester).

and then lance. that little inkling of hope. that small, glistening silvery thread of peace. that comforting presence that comes in to scrub away the sounds that echo and the gnats that persist; that warm sip of whiskey that burns away your greatest sins and deepest fears. and suddenly, it seems that every painful, suffocating minute you've suffered, has been worth it, for just this one, glorious gasp of air.

youre allowed to do what you want, and so are other people. if someone is clearly stating a headcanon and has made something that is NOT explicitly canon, while also having an explanation and lore around why things are they way they are s said media? they DONT want you input of 'uhm actually, this isnt accurate to canon' because in all likelihood? they KNOW that! especially if the thing you are complaining about isnt somthing that goes AGAINT the characters personality but is just a shift or a bonus thing added on to make the character their own.