Arctic Light

I am crushing so hard on the Agent Carter show right now, you guys. I think it helps a lot that it's only a self-contained 8 episodes, so there's a complete story arc and I can kind of just tuck it into my brain and give it some happy space there. I really hope there's a season two, but at the same time I almost feel like a season two would be a mixed blessing, because it gave me so much of I wanted already, and I would hate another season to leave it in a much worse place. (But I could have another season of their FACES! I am torn.) Let's face it, I will be sad if it's cancelled, but I'm also very happy with the 8 episodes we got.

I've been thinking about the aspects of the show that appeal to me, and while there are many reasons why I like it so much, I think part of it is that ... let me see, there is literally NO way to phrase this without sounding (for me) uncomfortably buzzwordy, but it's woman-centric and non-male-gazey not just in a way that most superhero stuff isn't, but even most genre shows starring female characters aren't. I think the big thing I kept feeling watching the show is This show feels like it's written FOR ME. I feel like I, me, my demographic is the target audience of this -- and I don't mean just "women generally" but "women like me"; this show appeals to me in a way that, say, Sex in the City type shows which are also aimed at a female demographic simply don't. I feel like I can relate to women like Peggy and Angie in a way I can't to women in most sci-fi stuff -- I love the female geniuses and leather-clad action heroes with impeccable makeup and so forth, but I don't really feel like "hey, that's me!" And while I don't have any particular problem empathizing with characters who are not like me, I can't remember the last time I've identified with a woman in sci-fi media as hard as I do with Peggy. I love many, many fictional characters, but there is a sort of coming-home comfort to this show (in spite of all the terrible stuff that happens on it) that just makes me feel like this is a sci-fi action show where PEOPLE LIKE ME are welcome and wanted.

That's not even a feeling I go around craving in particular. I literally don't care about that stuff most of the time! I just like what I like, and since I'm a female fan of sci-fi and superhero stuff, a ton of what I like is technically aimed at boys. But in all my many years of loving superheroes, and particularly throughout however many movies and shows I've enjoyed in the MCU, this is the first time I've really felt like somebody made a superhero thing FOR ME, and I had no idea how good that feeling is.

This obviously is not the only reason I like the show or even the main reason(s). It's more like something that snuck up on me and became a substrate underlying everything else I like about the show, if that makes any sense.

( And now the spoilery stuff - illustrated with screencaps! Many spoilers for all episodes herein. )

... and I watched another preview (not a new one, soteriophobe; this is the one I was discussing with you the other day). A VERY spoilery preview, I must add. Still, I have no few regrets. And no willpower, obviously. :D

( All discussion and link to the clip is safely tucked under an LJ-cut to save you from spoilers. This post contains spoilery images of SPOILING! )

Er ... this was supposed to be one post combining the kitchen scenes from 3x15 and 3x16, but the screencapping got out of hand. /o\

(All in all, neither of these scenes is particularly spoilery if you haven't seen the episode. Mostly they're just cute.)

( Screencaps of adorable from 3x15 )

I love watching my flist be all happy about H50 coming back. :D It is not my show, but seeing you guys all a-squee makes me happy!

Meanwhile, I've been attempting to console myself for the tragic lack of new White Collar until 2012 by looking up interviews, many of which I've already read/watched, but I'm still wallowing happily in how adorable and funny and nice this cast is. Awww, I think I've talked about this before, but they make my heart all squishy with their open appreciation and praise of each other. The shows that I fan on usually seem to have casts who get along really well off-set as well as on-set, but I don't remember running into a cast who go out of their way to say nice things about each other as often as these people do. Like, multiple times per interview, even. It's so sweet.

( Some particularly happymaking links and excerpts under the cut )

( Big shiny screencaps courtesy of my DVDs! )

MID-SEASON FINALE TOMORROW EEEEEEE! (Once again, I've been avoiding spoilers as hard as I can -- I'm not 100% unspoiled, but I'm mostly unspoiled, and would like to stay that way. Your cooperation is most appreciated!)

But the actual purpose of this post is a lot of disconnected happy noises resulting from re-watching random episodes (or pieces of episodes) over the last couple of weeks. There's no actual thinkiness or analysis or anything like that, just squeeful comments in no particular order.

( I think we can assume spoilers for everything that's aired so far )

( Screencaps! (watermarked, sadly, for the most part) )