It's not about exploring the show anymore, celebrating its minutia, or trying to find new ways to look at it. Rather, fandoms have become about the aesthetic reinterpretation of the same dominant themes ad nauseum, and the ritualistic group celebration of those themes by the fandom. Anyone who challenges those themes…

NuWho fandom is also terribly homogenized, as is most modern fandom when you think about it. Tumblr has ripped away the capacity for original discourse by having people relentlessly reblog a few key phrases like "am I the only who…?" and "just a reminder that…"

Eh, every war is mishandled. It's called "slippage" in policy-making terms. The U.S. has been particularly bad for it though, partially due to the bureaucratic infighting that's been codified into its military since the Key West agreement. Also partially due to the political

I dunno, I'm from Halifax and haven't really seen much of that. Certainly in federal Conservative discourse and the concomitant political ecology they've created, but not really at the local level (beyond those yellow ribbons). Maybe it's because I'm in an area where everyone has met at least one douchebag soldier?

Mine were the same way too. No clutter in the house, several giant stacks of RDs, especially in the bathroom.

I only put this episode up there. Again, both S2 and S3 are still ahead of it, as far as I'm concerned.

good call

I'm confused by that too…

If Asami becomes Batman, Varrick will use his magnet suit to become Ironman.

I just wanted to let you know that I agree with everything you've said here.

All I know is that whenever I see it I start to think that the Water Tribe is one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This will easily go down as the greatest television season of any show in 2014 ever.

Seriously. My fondest desire for this show is to see Asami become Batman. I keep on waiting for a situation where she thinks putting on a mask is a good idea.

Exactly. Wan's failure caused him to change his understanding of the system and take a different approach to what the Avatar meant.

Hmmm…. Id say that Zaofu is more a technocracy than an objectivist city. Objectivist Zaofu would be Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

Speaking of MoS, I straight up saw this fight as a Superman/Zod fight while watching the episode. It was very much a battle between humanity's two pinnacles about the meaning of power and control.

I was not sober when I wrote this, but I stand by it minus the intensity!

Aw, but she didn't have a romance plot this season! (Thank god).

Boooo capital punishment in all cases.

Pretty sure the Earth Kingdom is the Avatar version of Dynastic China. IIRC they literally dressed the rulers and bureaucrats up like Manchus and Mandarins.