Another installment of this blog’s Mindspill series

– Man, I really hope Blaine and Liv don’t end up hooking up in iZombie‘s next season. Obviously it’d be bad because Blaine’s a murderous sociopath who eats teenagers, but also, it’d feel super derivative of the Buffy and Spike relationship from Buffy‘s 6th season. Don’t need another self-destructive hate-boning plot line thank you very much.

– Speaking of iZombie, I forgot to mention in another article I wrote that I really appreciate Ravi’s character and the self-confidence he’s allowed to have despite being a nerd. With quotes like “I don’t even need to be this attractive. It’s just icing“, he’s the rare Hollywood nerd who knows he’s got it going on. Respect.

– I really want another Pierce Brosnan like Bond. I mean, I understand the appeal to Daniel Craig, I get that he’s a tougher more “stone” Bond, but that’s just not my personal preference for the character. With the rumours that Tom Hardy is the frontrunner as Craig’s successor I’m feeling a bit uneasy, because ironically enough, I find those two in particular to be “too street” for Bond. Give me a Bond who will make a quip after every creative kill and I’ll be happy. Or just give me Statham as James Bond and I’ll be delighted, only it’d be in the ironic sense in that case.

– September 2015. Still mad about the How I Met Your Mother Finale.

– Anyone else out there watching Jane the Virgin with the only hope being that Michael and Petra come out of all this happy? At first I was definitely on “Team Jane x Rafael”, but the more I think about it the more I realize how much more deserving the other parties in this are. First we have Michael, who finds out his fiance was artificially inseminated with another man’s sperm by mistake, has to accept that he has to raise another guy’s baby, has to accept that Jane will have a relationship with said father, and has to accept that said father has obvious designs on his fiance.  So under all of that stress, Michael royally screws up on one occasion and Jane immediately drops him for another guy. Excuse me Jane, but this is the guy who is willing to raise another man’s child with you, who knows you better than anyone else, and is accepting of every bit of baggage you’ve brought into the relationship in the past (including the whole no-sex before marriage thing), and you’re dropping him over one goof? (OK, I may be underselling the magnitude of the mistake, but still). OK, Jane doesn’t owe Michael anything because he’s a nice guy, she can be with whoever she wants, but as a third party observer it’s like, come on. Really appreciate how the show depicts Jane’s family feeling the same way. Even they realize the obviousness of that pairing.

Meanwhile with Petra, we have the most disheartening situation in the show. She and Rafael had a great marriage before she had a miscarriage. At the heart of everything that went wrong in their relationship is when their child couldn’t survive, and all the complications that came along with that. Soon after Rafael got cancer and after receiving his treatment, became sterile. This further screwed their relationship and things totally fell apart when Jane was inseminated accidentally with Raf’s sample. Petra’s always been something of an antagonist in the show, but when you really think about it, who wouldn’t be in this situation? Jane is an interloper who stole everything Petra ever wanted for her and her husband, anyone would go a little crazy in the face of that. I guess what I’m saying here is that Jane and Rafael need to forgive and forget in order to be with who they’re really meant to be with.

– Also, shame on the Emmys for snubbing this show. Not cool.

– A lot of people like to point out season 4 of Angel really ruined Cordelia’s character, but I think it’s fairer to say her character was going in the wrong direction halfway through season 3. After her “Birthday” episode, Cordelia became so engrossed in her role as Angel’s connection to the Powers That Be, that she became completely unrecognizable as a character. She just became too damn nice by that point. The embodiment of grace, she was infinitely understanding and wise and patient and it got kind of annoying after a certain point. She wasn’t the Cordelia I knew and loved, she was this machine that got so engrossed in its new role, that the parts that made it up before started to seem foreign. There was no edge or bite to her anymore. Nothing about Cordelia remained in Cordelia, and it shows in her brief reappearance in season 5, because holy hell was she written way better then. If Cordelia in season 3 was the beginning of the end for the character, and season 4 was her demise, season 5 was her brilliant revival that burned brilliantly for one glorious moment before being snuffed out forever.

– On an unrelated note, “You’re Welcome” was definitely one of the best episodes of Angel.

– While I’m discussing the “Buffyverse” (as I am prone to do) let’s talk about one of the most divisive moments in the series, the moment when Riley gives Buffy an ultimatum where she either chooses to be with him fully, or he leaves to re-join the military. They were dating before, but he felt she was keeping him at a distance and not fully investing in the relationship (which was 100% true mind you), which leads him to do something recklessly stupid. When Buffy confronts him about it, he lets his feelings out and tells her that he’s leaving, unless she cares enough to stop him. Obviously this bothers Buffy, and after a talk with her friend Xander (who lays it all out there for her), she is spurred to pursue him only to get there too late.

A lot of people misinterpret this situation as the show spinning it as if Buffy was in the wrong, and Riley is entitled to Buffy’s affection. Some argue that this was even sexist when it’s actually just the opposite. The entire situation, right down to the final scene of Riley flying off is all about what Buffy wants. Xander puts it best here:

“If he’s not the guy, if what he needs from you just isn’t there, let him go. Break his heart, and make it a clean break. But if you really think you can love this guy – I’m talking scary, messy, no emotions barred need – if you’re ready for that … then think about what you’re about to lose.”

That’s really all there is to it. Xander wanted Buffy to cut through the baggage, her dislike of ultimatums, her questions, her indignation… everything really, and reduced it all to a simple question: Is Riley worth it? If she said no, that wouldn’t make her the bad guy, it would just mean her feelings for him weren’t that strong. It’s Buffy that pursues him in the end because that was how she felt, acting like it’s sexist or wrong for the show to do this totally ignores the value it placed on Buffy’s decision at the time.

– I’ll leave off with what is probably the most unexpectedly funny moment in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.