Good Riddance Live

They’re not allowed to get interviewed anymore

I can’t believe people are mad about a 16-year-old girl wanting the earth to get better

i want more nuance to be entered into the discussion of the green girl sorority and how differently cynthia plays elphaba in comparison to those who came before her because while a lot of people are rightfully like "why was elphaba not black from the beginning" and celebrating that she is now being played by a black woman, i think we need to be careful in just writing off all the elphabas of the past as Random White Girls when the role was championed (and often followed/succeeded) by a jewish woman

the pop culture archetype of the Wicked Witch has deep roots in antisemitism stretching faaaar far back. there is a level of reclamation happening in casting idina menzel, a jewish woman, to play the Misunderstood and Maligned young girl who is branded as exactly that. and stage!Elphaba is also written and acted with jewish stereotypes in mind--she is loud, aggressive, no-nonsense, blunt. she is quick to advocate for herself and shut down the discrimination she faces. all of this is very intentional! her personality is abrasive from years of abuse, and that makes propagandizing her easy. this is literally the thesis statement of the musical--it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.

cynthia's performance of elphaba is fucking INSPIRED despite going in a completely different direction. she's much more reserved, analytical, one of her key character traits is how well she can read people (see her calling out Galinda as insecure/putting on airs in their first scene together, clocking that Fiyero is using his party guy persona as a shield for his own depression) elphaba's attempts to blend in and make herself smaller all fail simply because of her existence, if not that then because she feels empathy so strongly she often struggles to hold back from acting, protecting.

personality wise, though, cynthia's elphaba is very quiet and closed-off, not at all the bullet-to-the-face that she is in the stage show, and... she still gets propagandized and maligned. though this seems to contradict the other interpretation, it tells of the other end of the spectrum of propaganda, one that black women watching (and many, MANY other marginalized folks) are sure to identify with--it does not matter how "nice," how reserved, how small a black woman makes herself. a racist society will still scrutinize her every action for a way to parse ill intent from it, brand her as an angry black woman who is dangerous and wicked, and write off any humanity she has in the process.

these two very different interpretations tell of the lie of assimilation. the fact of the matter is, when you are marginalized, there is no way to sand down your edges enough to make the people oppressing you "accept" you. that is why wicked is a tragedy at its core. whether loud and aggressive or quiet and unimposing, there is nothing elphaba could have done to make the people of Oz see her as anything other than a scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

so while i definitely appreciate that people are excited for black girl era elphaba, i would encourage us all to still show appreciation for what came before--that was not white girl era elphaba. that was jewish girl era elphaba. two houses, both alike in dignity, two stories both worth being told.

Nothing I will ever see in my whole life will ever bring me as much joy as watching my 4-month old dog try to fit her entire foot in her mouth

It’s all downhill from here

Ive only seen the “character goes berserk after loved one gets hurt/dies” trope done with romantic relationships so the owl house doing it with found family? I need to tear something apart with my teeth

"Every time someone steps up and says who they are the world becomes a better, more interesting place." 🫶🏳️‍🌈

My tribute to Andre Braugher, thank you for Captain Raymond Holt ❤️✨

something about the final climax of thunderbolts not being this huge, explosive battle where the villain is irredeemable and the heroes summon the power of the galaxies to stop them-

but how the final climax was quiet. the darkest shadow, a void falling over new york. it wasn't loud, there wasn't any screaming. it descended upon the city and the people didn't have a chance to react before it swallowed them whole.

how the team's battle was internal, inside their own minds, instead of a huge punchy shoot-off. (especially with this group's skill set, it was unexpected) how they all fought through the shame and guilt and their worst nightmares only to embrace each other anyway. the villain fighting against himself only to realize he is allowed to be loved, despite it all.

how they are all fucked up and have done terrible things but saved the city by holding each other tightly, so tightly that bob realizes the void isn't all he is, and light always comes again.

this movie had so much heart, it made me feel something for a team again, we are so back.

Is it too soon to talk about the fact that Nina and Maggie are a metaphor for Crowley and Aziraphale, but NOT in the way they led us to believe throughout S2?

Nina is the tough one, the one that doesn't trust anybody and she's just like Crowley. Maggie is the sweet and kind lady that is just like Aziraphale.

But Nina is stuck in a toxic relationship where the partner exists only in the form of omnipresent cruel texts, gaslight and accusations. She knows that the one she loves doesn't love her back as much, but she justifies every cruelty because she's the "complicated one" and they need only a little bit more time to fix things. She's doing nothing wrong, some things were completely out of her control, and yet she was the one to blame. She's hurt, a victim and yet she doesn't leave her distant cruel partner for Maggie, that is clearly and painfully in love with her. In the end, when she's dumped via text, she understands that she'll need to redefine herself as a person before going back to Maggie (hoping to find her still waiting, because she took so long).

Maggie struggles to pay rent, is extremely lonely and constantly hiding in her empty record shop because she's at her lowest point. She's fallen in love with Nina a long time ago but always watched her from afar. Nina couldn't be interested in such a wreck, she already has a partner and at a certain point she even stated she'll rather stay in her current toxic relationship instead of starting a new one with her! But Maggie also changed during S2, understanding her self-worth and letting herself be free of her fears and insecurities. She'll also wait as long as necessary for Nina to figure out what she needs.

The Nina/Maggie duo is not a metaphor of Crowley/Aziraphale in S2.

The moment you start thinking of Nina as Aziraphale and Maggie as Crowley you realise they're foreshadowing of S3.

you will feel so alive again.. like so incredibly alive. i dont know when that will be but it will be. u are gonna feel so alive that ur cheeks hurt from smiling oh man oh man i promise that day is coming. you do have a future, you do have good things coming, and you’ll survive everything that’s thrown at you until you reach that day

the wicked movie teaches important moral lessons like "be bisexual in college" and "don't trust politicians" and "if you push someone who's in a wheelchair without their permission, someone might throw a bench at your head with their mind"