YesAndWhatAboutIt

This show is peak for someone like me who always says yes to the mess. It's toxic, everyone is their worst selves and I'm eating it up like slop. I don't know how this dumb mess is somehow the show I look most forward to every week, but here we are.

Really not sure why you're bringing race into it when it has nothing to do with anything.

Is it awful if I hope season 2 doesn't focus the most on Babe & Charlie? I'm sorry but they were the least interesting part of season 1 to me, and it feels like their story has already resolved. I get that they'll be in it, and front and center, but I hope they split the screentime much more evenly in the second season. They don't need to split it twelve ways because that's ridiculous, but if I watch an entire new season and there is still no resolution to the absolute cliffhanger that was Pete and Way, I will be so pissed.

I'm actually incredibly excited by this. I'd like to see what they write for these characters when they're not shackled to the source material which it was so obvious they had no interest in following in season 1. I find the new territory and weird almost horrorish ambience of the trailer...interesting. And I'm willing to give it a shot because I'm still in love with these characters, even if the first season descended into something of a disappointment for me by the end.

Say what you will about the writing [I'd personally say it's only consistent in the fact that it is always a hot mess] but today's episode SERVED with the acting. Pavel and Nut were both dynamite.

I ask you, which of these behaviors is more toxic:

a) Criticizing flaws you have with the writing, acting and story structure of a FICTIONAL show, while trying to simultaneously defend the reasons why you continue to watch it despite its shortcomings

or b) Flooding a comment section with complaints of toxicity while toxically attacking people just for watching a show and having an opinion about it. Not offering your own opinion and why its different, not even trying to explain the reasons you disagree with their opinions, just openly hating on people who might have a different way of viewing a series than you.

But they are right about one thing, if the only thing you seek out of a discussion board meant to discuss a series is to post thirst updates about the cast, you'll probably have a better time on Twitter or TikTok. 🤷‍♀️

The pacing of this show is an absolute joke with how ridiculously dreadful it is.

We left the last episode on an emotional cliffhanger between Babe, Charlie and Way. Do we pick up on that story thread and carry the emotional momentum into this episode to explore the fallout of that? No, of course not. Instead we bring to you a completely frivolous, fruitless and arbitrary rescue plot with North and Sonic to fail to rescue Kim. Am I invested? Of course not, because there was maybe ten minutes of collective screentime for all three of these character combined in the previous seven episodes, so guess what? I don't care what happens to any of them.

I will give the show this, after all of the nonsense and useless parade of pointlessness, I was almost happy to see Babe and Charlie in a scene, for the sheer fact that at least it felt like a return to the plot. That is, until they spent ten minutes on the most out of left field, about absolutely nothing, useless "romantic" scene between them against the backdrop of everything else going to hell. Amazing.

Why is the show pretending like we don't already know that Way is the person that Tony was talking to? What kind of idiotic game of gotcha do they think they're pulling? Just show his face, so we can carry on with the plot, and stop pretending you are these grand masters of intrigue storytelling. It didn't work when you pulled it with Charlie's character, and it doesn't work here.

I'm in agreement with some down below who feel as if for the first time, they are not that excited for the next episode. This show drains my excitement for it more and more as each episode progresses. By the finale I will be an empty husk, void of any expectations.

I think it has more to do with people being frustrated with the writing. At this point, even when Alan and Jeff's romantic arc does start moving forward, it will be rushed to the point of not making much sense. Because from where they currently are in episode 8, I can't fathom how they could possibly believably get to soaking in a bathtub together levels of intimacy. If that's what they're writing towards, then they did this couple a disservice with the way they wrote them.

That episode was a mess and the preview for the next episode looks like even more of a mess. I don't know about anyone else, but this episode was the first time the show did not end in a way that made me want to watch the next episode. Up until now, the show has been able to pull me in with good character moments, and a decent plotline, but if all we're going to get from here on out is pointless hijinks, muddy character motivations and a takeover of pointless side characters, I'm fine tuning out until episode 13.

WAC for the win.

Viva Way and Pete. Let Rome burn. That's my whole take. Pithy enough for the 'I can't read more than 150 characters' crowd?

Lol, but in all honesty. At this point I want Way to flip on Babe because Babe sucks and deserves it and I don't actually care about any of the other characters anyways. So yeah, let Rome burn.

But get you some Pete while you're at it.

I feel like I've been away forever. But here's my take on the most recent episode:

That 'argument' between Charlie and Babe was completely lame. And we still know nothing about Charlie as a character. But all of the characters thinking he's the most awesome person to ever awesome is giving real Mary Sue vibes. Someone else said that down below about Charlie and Babe feeling like Mary Sue characters, and I think they're right.

I feel like they're building Way's character up for a fall, and I'm not ready for the atrocious writing they're going to do to have that heel turn make sense. Because these writers are hacks, and they will definitely find a way to make it make no sense.

I don't mind if Way has a full heel turn, though. Charlie and Babe suck anyways. And honestly, I'm not that emotionally invested in any of the other member of the X Hunter team either, so I say let it burn. And if he hooked up with Pete in the process, even better.

No Alan and Jeff in this episode which sucks, because I think it means that we will literally be getting five seconds of screentime for Alan/Jeff and Way/Pete every other episode.

What I don't understand is that if you wanted to have the show be mostly Charlie and Babe centric, then why wouldn't you write them to be more compelling? Why do you refuse to give them any kind of emotional weight and drama? How is it that Charlie and Babe have the most screentime, but are the least compelling part of the series? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE, WRITERS.

Yeah, I'm afraid for the heel turn too, but only because I have a feeling based on these writers that it will be so stupidly contrived and make absolutely no narrative sense the way they do it. Though lowkey, I'm so completely checked out of Charlie and Babe as a couple, I think I'd root for Way even if he ended up working for Tony and turning against Babe. I'd be all in for Darth Way and mysterious loner Pete to hook up and let the world burn around them.

I'm still hanging around for some reason. They're literally keeping my hanging by the tiniest of side couple crumbs. I'm approaching a point where I might have to let the show finish out and then just go back and watch the parts I care about though.

Not to mention that it's so obvious that the only reason Alan wanted to keep Charlie around was to use him to get closer to Jeff. Lol who exactly doesn't know how to keep work from their personal life?

So glad that it looks like next episode will FINALLY address some of Charlie's shadiness. It only took half the entire run time of the series for us to maybe finally get a sense of an idea of who one of our two main characters is.

I was hoping we'd get a little more of a forward momentum to Alan and Jeff this episode, but I guess they really want to drag their dynamic out for some stupid reason.

Sad we didn't see any Pete this episode, but it looks like he's back next episode, so we can rejoice.

Way and Babe's entire friendship and dynamic is toxic as hell, but after this episode, I don't want to hear from people who think Way is the only one being toxic and manipulative. Babe knew Way was in love with him for YEARS, and not only did he never bring it up, in order to maintain the friendship dynamic that he preferred, he very obviously leaned into it whenever he wanted Way to do something for him. That's messed up. That's emotional manipulation to the nth degree. It doesn't absolve Way's equal and obvious emotional manipulation, but we're not going to sit here and continue to pretend that Babe is this innocent little lamb that's done nothing wrong and is just continually lied to by everyone around him. Babe knows what he's doing. And he can play the game just as shady as the rest of them.

Here's hoping that if this is a Goldie Locks situation, that maybe Pete and Way will be the couple that they get just right. Not holding my breath, but a girl can dream.

Or even, I don't know. Give them any kind of compelling romantic scenes in their own series where they are supposed to be the main couple? And the couple is supposed to be the main plot? Any at all? Any kind of compelling writing to make your CENTRAL couple central to the story at all? It's just weird at this point how little PavelPooh show up in their own BL series.

Preach it to the heavens and back. I almost wish the plot of this actually was Charlie just absolutely gaslighting him into believing he's in love with him just to get closer to him and the team. One, because that feels like the only way Charlie has any shot to be interesting at this point, and two because Babe deserves it for folding like a lawn chair every time Charlie coos at him with that irritating cutesy baby personality.

I came away in this episode thinking, what actually is Babe's type? He establishes that no one else at the bar is his type, and that Way isn't his type, but for some reason Charlie's charismaless ass does it for him. Maybe he vibes with peak cringe?

I don't know. I haven't seen a character manufacture their own inevitable downfall this hard since I've watched Breaking Bad.

Not people still out here vilifying Way when he barely did anything in this episode. Can you let the man breathe for one episode? Lol.

I was actually incredibly aggravated by both Babe and Charlie separately in this episode for different reasons. Despite the fact that I actually rolled my eyes at the stupid, cheesy scene where Charlie swoops in to save Babe. I was hoping it would be revealed that Charlie was behind everything to manipulate his way back into Babe's life. And I was like- finally, Charlie is going to be an interesting character. Finally his true persona will be unmasked, and it will be crazy and dark and interesting. But of course, that didn't happen.

I'm getting off topic. Babe aggravated me with his absolute refusal to just have a freaking conversation. At least hear Charlie out, even though he'll almost certainly lie to you with some bullshit excuse. At least have the decency to hear out his reasons. And I was incredibly irritated with Charlie being all aghast and confused as to why Babe would push him away and question some of his motives. Something really rubbed me the wrong away about the whole. 'Pushing me away? But what did I do? I'm just an innocent little flower' little sad boy act he was putting on in this episode. There's nothing worse than when a character knows they're being shady and dishonest, the audience knows the character is being shady and dishonest, and yet the show still goes out of its way to try to make them the innocent victim who's been wronged.

Still holding out hope that there will ever come a day when this show manages to make Charlie and Babe compelling to me. Because for some reason, right now they feel like an also ran in their own damn show. Also, I wish they'd start developing some of these side couples a little bit more. How is it possible that these writers have failed to set up their main couple and also failed to do any set up for any of their side couples? Do they even want to write a BL? If they just wanted to write an ensemble show about shady race car drivers with powers, they could've just done that and called it something different. Because I have to agree with what some others have said on here. For me personally, every single aspect of this show works except for the romantic plotline.