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so what now

@retiredfromthegame / retiredfromthegame.tumblr.com

not really
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quinnfebrey
Anonymous asked:

hi i just have to ask, what specifically do you like about first kill? i think it’s a cool concept and all and the girls are cute but i just feel like the acting wasn’t that good and it was just really cheesy. i’ve watched up to when they run away from their families. does it get better? i’m still going to watch the whole show i just don’t really understand the hype like what am i missing

quinnfebrey answered:

okay let me preface by saying that this got really long and i don’t at all mean this directly @ you it just seemed like a good opportunity to brain dump every thought i’ve had about first kill 😅

i didn’t think the acting was that bad (and im usually really picky/sensitive to shit acting which is like 60% of the reason i hate mike wheeler from stranger things lmao) so i don’t really have a rebuttal for that but it definitely gets better after that ep though. the finale is what cemented it for me interestingly enough. i was on the fence until then and then on my second watch i liked it so much more idk why!

but i don’t see cheesy as a bad thing if it’s well done though? which i think it is? i mean it’s vampires like. there’s always going to be some amount of that. if “cheesy” things didn’t exist we wouldn’t have some of the most beloved media. twilight, teen wolf, friends, gossip girl, to all the boys i loved before, heartstopper, buffy, the office, greys anatomy, scream queens. hell, even star wars is cheesy as shit, so is pretty much everything marvel like…??

we should ask ourselves why sapphic media is held to such a high standard in comparison. not everything has to be a work of art, sometimes it’s just fun. i also don’t think first kill falls into the “settling for” category, i actually think it’s a lot better than people are giving it credit for, BUT for those who do see it that way, it should be recognized that if you (as a general collective) ever want “better” sapphic content, you can’t just disregard every sapphic thing you DO have because it’s not perfect

anyway onto what i actually liked about it:

  • the representation alone in the fact that there’s a dark skinned black lesbian as the main character is practically unheard of
  • being gay is not the subject of the plot, not a metaphor for the vampirism, but also not glossed over. i cannot name ONE single other lesbian tv show in which their sexuality or homophobia isn’t the primary plot or character development that they go through
  • the friendship between ben and juliette is SO cute and one of the best teen friendships i’ve seen realistically and enjoyably on tv
  • cal’s relationship with her family is also beautiful to watch, especially as it would be SO easy to feed into the “black girls are more mature/older” but no! she’s a teenager! she’s a CHILD. and her family treats her as such
  • theo as an adopted member of the family is one of the best representations of adoption i’ve ever seen except maybe randall pearson on this is us. very rarely do adoption stories ever get right the line between being part of the family but not abandoning where the child came from, and they just get it so well
  • elinor is an interesting villain (but i won’t spoil it for you), and even while she’s being a god awful person she manages to do it while still being objectively likable enough that you’re actually invested in what she’s doing. most often i hate the villains of anything because they’re just Bad, there’s no reason or logic or anything else besides I Am The Villain. i loved elinor as an antagonist because that’s NOT the case. you see several different sides to her and can understand where she’s coming from even if you vehemently disagree (which, you definitely should disagree lol)
  • adding onto it, all of the mistakes or “bad decisions” made by any of the character are done in a way that’s very in character, not just a plot device handed to that character for no reason
  • cal and juliette’s relationship might be one of the only examples i’ve of a lesbian teenage relationship that’s allowed to be unabashedly sexual without being sexualized, which is so important. lesbians are too often either hypersexualized for a straight audience or practically sterile for a straight audience, but first kill finds the balance between allowing them to be realistic in their sexuality while still protecting the fact that they’re minors
  • the racial metaphors within the legacy/guild are very well done without being on the nose
  • cal and juliette are the main characters that drive the ENTIRE show. when has that ever happened with two lesbians in an actual full scale tv show?
  • juliette and cal aren’t roped into masc or femme boxes, and instead are both allowed to wear and present themselves in a wide variety of clothing that’s still in character
  • the relationship dynamics are what make the show imo. talia & theo, juliette & elinor, cal & apollo margot/sebastian, talia/jack, ben & juliette, cal/jules obviously. they’re the heart and soul of first kill and they managed to flesh out numerous disagreements (of varying degrees) without just making one person start an argument for no reason; again, it’s in character, and never used to demonize one person. you can almost always see the other side with grace even if you personally have an opinion
  • it’s funny, cute, hot, sad, and a whole range of other emotions all throughout the show, and yeah maybe it’s done a little messily, but it’s pretty rare for me to find a tv show that actually makes me audibly laugh AND legitimately cry actual tears
  • the chemistry between the actresses for cal and juliette is off the charts and really makes them shine in whatever scene they’re in
  • calliope is devoted to her cause and depicted as a passionate, determined hunter, but does NOT fall into the angry black girl stereotype (joss whedon take notes please?)
  • in fact, none of the black characters fall into any stereotypes. it would be so easy for them to make talia some independent woman girl boss but they allow her to be a strong individual while still having the softness and tenderness in her relationship with her kids and her husband
  • there’s nothing annoyingly stereotypical about the family either. it’s not a feel good story about over coming poverty or racism, there’s no absent father or drug addict brother. it’s just a family, that loves and fights and happens to be black
  • the writers room is SUPER diverse. this is coming from someone who was previously obsessed with the wilds, a show with a very diverse cast but a bland as hell writers room and it showed. a diverse character list means NOTHING if the people writing them aren’t also diverse, and first kill understands that
  • the fact that the show can have lines like “it was no match for the gods of olympus, so why would i be immune to the insanity of first love?” and “you are my mother?” in the same show and neither feel out of place is something to be commended
  • calliette isn’t just a side plot sprinkled in throughout the show in 2 minute increments, they ARE the show
  • the soundtrack slaps
  • and this is just off the top of my head

additional thoughts on this topic (i’m sorry, but i warned you it got long😅):

i think people are forgetting that it’s a pilot season of eight episodes with a budget of about $3

pulling characters out of archetypes, fleshing out lore, complex plot, deeper character dynamics, better budget, more nuanced script, etc. all come AFTER the first season. tv shows aren’t what they used to be; you don’t get 22 episodes to make your case. when you have to introduce an audience to an entire world in eight hour long episodes, you’re going to have to fall into some predictable storylines, some cheesy writing, some basic character layouts

“this line was cheesy” sure, but did it tell you what it was supposed to about the characters in the scene? will you remember that for future episodes? “the plot was boring” okay, but which characters did what? did that teach you about them? did you figure something out based on decisions they did or didn’t make? “this character annoyed me/wasn’t developed enough/needs to learn xyz” okay, what do you think season 2 and beyond is for?

unless a tv show is intended to be a standalone series, such as the haunting anthology, very rarely do you come to a conclusive and complicated character arc and plot line all in one season. i feel like the popularity of that tv style has created this false sense of what tv is actually like; you’re supposed to leave a season wanting more. if you’re completely satisfied, they don’t have any reason to make another

a great example to me is brooklyn 99; i loved the pilot season the first time i watched it, but after finishing the show it’s one of the worst because of how stereotyped every character is. but… it works. yeah, jake in the pilot season was annoying as shit in hindsight, but it built him quickly and consistently and set him up for five seasons of additional depth and development

point being, it is extremely difficult to convince people to care about and differentiate several brand new characters in 8 hours of content if they aren’t boxed up a little bit

if you’re expecting killing eve, you’re going to be disappointed. if you’re expecting heartstopper, you’re going to be disappointed. if you’re expecting anything at all, you’re going to be disappointed. if you allow it to be what it is, that’s when you’ll really enjoy it

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