I Think My Favorite Thing About The Old Guard Is That, As Weird As It Sounds, All The Immortals Have

PAIN

"And I want you to know that Portland Row will always be open for business. There's a light burning in the living room, cakes on the table, new cases yet to solve...Please drop by any time. Its your home too after all."

im weeping mr shroud.

You know those characters who are so insanely dedicated and loyal to the main couple of the show they’re on?

The one that should be considered a third wheel but, somehow, they just belong there, by their side, and while others may question it, the couple never does.

Not once.

The one that is so ride or die for each person individually and the couple’s relationship that it gives you the most intense yearning/poly vibes you’ve ever felt.

The one that will kill for them. Risk everything to ensure their two favorite people are safe and happy.

Special shout out to Eliot Spencer and Walter Skinner for being the epitome of that character type. They’re the real ones. Best boys, fr.

oh my god season four of leverage is fucking DIABOLICAL. how the fuck are you gonna open with the long way down job, and then hit with the van gogh job carnival job AND the grave danger job in just the first half ??? i swear to god i was shaking out of my skin all through the second half of the grave danger job. and where is aldis hodge’s oscar ??? the shaky voice the constant tears the frantic ripping at the inside of the coffin ?? i was literally holding my phone at arm’s length trying not to cry for him i swear.

i have to appreciate the directors here because i think they did a fantastic job focusing on harrison’s situation and really emphasizing the peril and dread the whole team was working through. the fevered search of the city, the awful moment when parker and sophie have to abandon their shovels and duck for cover, and harrison is left panicked and alone— that shit HURT y’all. it HURT. (i will say that the way the coffin was apparently uncovered off screen was a bit off— they only got a few shovels in before the guy started shooting, i thought, but oh well)

and obviously the hugging at the end. fuck kissing on screen hugging is where it’s at. eliot literally diving over gravestones to get to the coffin and pull hardison out and then clutching him like he’s trying to absorb the poor guy into his bloodstream ??? i will simply never be the same. and the perfect touch of beth riesgraf looking absolutely fucking devastated before turning away because she’s so so so wrecked about this but she’s not ready for that hug…. leverage writers need to square up because that was one fucked up episode and it also delivered on every characterization front ever. leverage is the gift that fucking giving y’all

Love him

My hottake is that people are trying to fit Lockwood into character archetypes he doesn't fit, because they see "traumatized teen boy with a big ego and a passive death wish" and go "oh. emotionally unavailable asshole character" when that's.....not actually the character we're shown.

He's constantly praising Lucy and George. He's often the first one to try and apologize when he gets into a fight with them. The second he clocks Lucy as a "safe person" he becomes super touchy and holds her hand constantly. He compliments George's cooking. He's visibly proud of the people he cares about and publicly defends them on multiple occasions. He repeatedly asks his team if they're okay and tries to get them to open up when they're having issues. He makes an obvious, conscious effort to repeatedly tell Lucy he believes in her and wants her to stay at Portland Row. He smiles and jokes and laughs around with them on a pretty regular basis. He's also emotionally aware enough to tell Lucy "the reason I haven't talked about this subject with you is because it's relevant my childhood, which I don't like to talk about because it's pretty traumatic" when she questions him ahout Jessica's door, and he's kind of astonishingly open about his trauma with Lucy and George despite generally being unwilling to actually talk about the details.

And this applies to characters other than Lucy and George, too. He compliments Kipps' team during the graveyard fight and clearly respects Flo, for example. He's kind to Winkman's son, is generally polite to his clients, and is affected by the death of the undercover agent to the point of having a panic attack. It's pretty clear he cares deeply about the people around him even as he tries to push those closest to him away so they won't mourn him if (when) he dies.

Like yeah, Lockwood has an ego the size of Manhattan, has enough trauma to fill a boat, and is worryingly flippant about the worth of his own life, but he's not the Asshole With a Heart of Gold archetype. He's not cruel or deliberately mean (at least, not to anyone who's not Kipps). He's friendly and pretty kind to most people most of the time, and he openly cares about his team. And it's a little weird that I'm seeing so many people talk about him like he's not.

"you can't ship those characters they tried to kill each other!" sounds like someone can't appreciate the inherent eroticism of violence 🙄

Bilbo, knowing for a fact Thorin doesn't know what flowers mean to hobbits: Can I braid some flowers in your hair?

Thorin, knowing for a fact Bilbo doesn't know what braids mean to dwarves: Oh of course, what a nice gesture of friendship.

Gandalf, a few feet away: Are they getting engaged before realizing they love each other back????

Just started reading it and love it already 💙

Alex “my reputation's never been worse, so, you must like me for me” Blackwood and Molly “I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this” Parker

the fuck netflix tag

Lockwood & Co fans 🤝 Shadow and Bone fans

My favourite trio closely followed by Parker Hardison and Elliot ❤️❤️

One of the reasons why I think that Lucy, Lockwood and George work so well as a trio is that they very much complete each other, making up for each other's weaknesses.

Like, Lockwood and George are a bit too aloof but Lucy is very emotionally mature. Lucy and George are a bit too flaky but Lockwood is a strong leader. Lockwood and Lucy are a bit too impulsive but George is levelheaded.

They're all very flawed and damaged kids but they raise each other up at every turn, effectively helping the others better themselves.

You know, they just work. They make sense. It's beautiful.