r/MrTV07

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. This might be something most people, except for me, aren’t wondering or even talking about, but I genuinely wonder if they’re going to revisit that whole thing with Yin-Yang (assumably just Yang, but since I’m delusional as hell and we’re not too sure if Yin also has feelings, I will continue believing) having feelings for Candle.

So in case you don’t remember, in “Spring on the Breakfast” (aka episode 14), Yang straight up admits to Silver Spoon that he has feelings for her and wanted to talk to her again. However, Silver Spoon, the bitch he is, straight up manipulated Yang into thinking Candle was brainwashing both him and Yin. Yang bought it hook, line, and sinker, Yin-Yang and Candle had a falling out until the finale or whatever, and that was pretty much it for this… I wouldn’t say arc or even plot point, but you get the point.

Now, I’m a diehard Yindle shipper, so this might come off as biased as hell, I wonder if they’re gonna address it properly or  just gonna be dropped forever without any closure. I mean, yeah, they did have a reunion/reconciliation back in the II3 finale, but even that didn’t really dive back into the feelings part at all.

And look, I get it. Yin-Yang isn’t competing in this season, so it’s not like they have to bring it up for plot reasons unless somehow he makes a return mid-game. But I still hope they do something with it in II4. I mean, we’re only 5 episodes in, so we are far away from the finale yet. Plenty of time for them to revisit the whole thing. And oh, since Candle wasn’t around during the whole Yang confession (since it was a clone of her for the challenge), if she finds out about Silver Spoon manipulating Yin-Yang into thinking she brainwashed both Yang and Yin, there is potential for some messy drama if Candle were to not let it slide. (Ah yes, Candle and Silver Spoon beefing for the 100th time and then going back to being besties. What else is new? My girl Candle deserves better 💀)

So from a writing standpoint, it feels kind of unfinished. Not “they forgot it existed” unfinished, more like “ the writers clearly left the door open but haven’t walked back through it yet” unfinished. 

So yeah… I’m not expecting a full romantic subplot or anything (if Yindle actually becomes canon I might actually faint), but at least some acknowledgment would be nice. Even just a throwaway line or flashback nod to it would go a long way in making it feel like it actually mattered in-universe and not just something that happened to exist for one episode.

I might be the first to bring this up, but it is my duty as a delusional shipper to keep this agenda alive even if it is purely powered by copium.

So, that’s all I have for this post today. What do y’all think. Should season 4 revisit this, or are we just meant to pretend that Yang only said that for shits and giggles? Let me know in the comments below. I wonder if this post brought back some discussion about  the whole thing.

If II4 revisits it, I’ll look like a prophet. If it doesn’t, I’ll put on some clown makeup and start acting like this post never existed.

Yindle endgame believers stay strong. 💜🖤

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. So there is something a lot of fans haven’t really talked about before and this post might anger some people, but here we go anyway.

Lowkey, Candle & Silver Spoon’s friendship is straight-up toxic, and I’m tired of pretending it’s not.

Now you probably be like ‘you already made a whole post about this a month ago, why are you bringing it up again?’ Fair call. But that one was me laying out how I would write another arc if I got the chance, NOT a post specifically talking about why their friendship itself is lowkey toxic as hell on its own merits. Anyways, let’s move on.

I know there will be a lot of people who will be like ‘no, you’re wrong’ or ‘they’re besties, you’re just a hater’, especially the Silvercandle shippers, but let’s actually break it down without the rose-tinted shipping goggles for once.

Let me make this clear: I did love their arc in Inanimate Insanity Invitational. Probably one of, if not, the most engaging arc in Inanimate Insanity history. I was hooked by the constant drama and the back-and-forth tension. It made for killer TV, no cap. But looking back, that “entertaining” drama was basically ahighlight reel of a toxic friendship dynamic that nobody wants to call out.

First of all, they were in constant drama. It was like they were friends to enemies to friends to enemies to… you get the point. It was nonstop flip-flopping that kept us all glued to the screen, but in real life? That kind of back-and-forth would drain the absolute hell out of anyone. And the drama usually starts… because of Silver Spoon’s massive ego and superiority complex. Candle literally called him out in episode 18 (A Jury of Your Fears) for the same exact shit. She saw right through his need for constant validation and how he was using people (including her) to prop up his fragile ego.  You thought that was the last straw for Candle, right? Well… they had a massive fight which saw them clashing and Candle getting knocked out cold by Silver’s own Inner Flame… but one episode later, they were basically back on speaking terms again. Like, girl, this was your perfect opportunity to leave Silver Spoon in the dust and walk away for good. But nah, one episode later you’re back to being besties like the whole blow-up never happened.

But Candle isn’t the reason why their friendship is toxic. let’s be honest here: Candle spent half that season being Silver Spoon’s emotional support system, therapist, moral compass, and damage control crew all in one. The reason why it is toxic is because of my next point: Silver Spoon himself! That’s right, I’m bringing out all the receipts for this one!

And before you say, but Candle also- nah, we’re not doing that false equivalence thing. Yes, she also has her mistakes in this relationship, but the scale of those mistakes compared to Silver Spoon’s behaviour is not even remotely balanced.

I can only describe Silver Spoon in just a few words:

* Self-centred 

* British royal family wannabe 

* Entitled 

* Constant need for validation

* Thinks people are beneath him

* At times manipulative 

* has a superiority complex 

* And emotionally unstable AS FUCK!

And look, I’m not even saying this to dunk on Silver Spoon for the sake of it. He is written to be this way. That’s the point. But that’s exactly the issue.

He’s written to be this “egoistical, regal,  constantly-self-mythologising” type of character who needs validation like oxygen, which honestly makes for such a entertaining and chaotic character to watch on screen. Like, I get why people love him. I really do. He’s flashy, dramatic, and every time he’s on screen you know something’s about to go down. That’s good writing for entertainment. But in real life, I bet he would be an absolute nightmare to deal with. 

Like imagine having a “friend” who constantly needs to be the centre of every single situation, who treats everyone else, even his friends, like peasants, who thinks he is some member of the royal family, and who quite literally acts like he was born with  a silver spoon in his mouth. That’s exactly what Candle went through for most of the season.

I know a lot of people are gonna call me out for mischaracterising Silver Spoon here, and honestly, I’ll own up to one thing straight away: yes, I am leaning into his worst traits on purpose for this argument, which quite frankly we see a lot of, so I could be right and also wrong with this. If I am actually really mischaracterising him, let me know in the comments because I’m trying not to mischaracterise or flatten him into just “ego man bad” but to be fair, according to canon sources and how Silver Spoon is consistently written across the series, his whole thing Is that he craves validation, he thinks he’s some royal prince when he is not, and he has a ego that is ridiculously large. That’s not just fan interpretation either, that’s my knowledge of who he is as a person.

And y’all probably be like ‘but Mr. TV, in season 4 so far, he said he is not competing because he’s working on himself. It’s gotta be proof that he is getting better.’ Okay, I get that. He clearly said that he is stepping back from competing to “work on himself” but at this point, it could mean anything. It could mean that he is actually taking accountability and be a better person, or it could be him reframing the narrative and dodging actual accountability while still keeping his “I’m self-aware now guys” image intact. We don’t know unless we actually find out what he truely meant by “working on himself”.

And yeah, I’ll say it plainly again: Candle deserves better.

Clearly, Silver Spoon is a burden on Candle more often than he is an actual equal partner in their so-called friendship.

She was constantly putting out his fires (sometimes literally with her own Inner Flame), talking him down from his ego spirals, and trying to guide him toward being a ‘better’ person. I’m putting better in quotes because deep down, I don’t think Silver Spoon actually changed all that much during their time together.  Anyway, back to what I was saying. Candle was basically carrying the emotional labour of this entire friendship on her back. She’s out here trying to meditate, tap into her inner flame for wisdom, and help the team, while also playing therapist, mortal compass, emotional support system, and straight-up damage control ALL AT ONCE! And the worst part? Their friendship is also dysfunctional because what do you mean those two went through like 1000 emotional whiplash moments in one season because of one person? (I am overexaggerating but you get the vibe). One minute, they're ride-or-die besties holding hands and doing dramatic inner flame training montages, and the next, they’ll be at each other’s throats because Candle disrespected Silver Spoon or Silver Spoon has thrown another tantrum.

I am surprised that Candle hasn’t walked over to Silver Spoon and whooped his ass a long time ago. And I’m not even saying that in a “haha violence funny” way, I’m saying that in a “how has she had this much patience for this long” way because I bet if Silver Spoon does one more wrong move, Candle would snap and be throwing hands. 

At this point, Candle should just cut ties with him and find a best friend who actually respect her as equals instead of using her as a stepping stone for his own fragile ego.

Now, to all the Silvercandle shippers out there who are probably getting ready to downvote me to oblivion, hear me out for a second. You are allowed to love the ship. I’m not saying you’re "wrong" for liking the dynamic, it’s fiction, and toxic dynamics are often the most interesting ones to watch. But let’s call a spade a spade: shipping something doesn't mean it's a healthy dynamic. In fact, some of the most popular ships in fiction history are built on dysfunction, that's literally what makes them compelling. But there's a big difference between "interesting to watch" and "good for the people involved." Silvercandle is peak "interesting to watch." It is not peak "healthy friendship goals,” and the fact that Candle keeps forgiving him and coming back to him anyway says everything about how deep this imbalance runs.

Candle is genuinely one of the most spiritually grounded, self-aware, and emotionally mature characters in the entire show. Like, this is a girl who meditates, who uses a salt crystal and a tuning fork to centre herself and others, who walks off a sixty-foot cliff with her eyes closed because she's that at peace with herself. But she keeps finding herself pulled back into Silver Spoon's orbit like some kind of emotional gravity she can't escape. And that, right there, is the most heartbreaking part of this whole thing.

Now here’s a question most people are probably wondering (or already know the answer to): Who do I think Candle deserves more than Silver Spoon?

Ladies and gents, my Yindle delusions are coming back to bite me because I genuinely think Yin-Yang. And before you say anything, I know. I KNOW. I’m mostly saying this because Yin-Yang and Candle is my Inanimate Insanity OTP, but there are more reasons to that other than because I ship them.

Firstly, and this is probably the most important reason for my case, Yin-Yang never treated Candle like a stepping stone or an emotional punching bag. At least those two are like equals and genuinely respected each other. Like, think about it. Yin-Yang never once tried to weaponise Candle's emotional generosity against her or anyone else. He never made her feel like she had to earn his approval or prove her worth to him. He never He never made her question her own worth or spiritual path just to feed his ego.  Candle has a way healthier relationship with Yin-Yang than Candle ever had with Silver Spoon.

Yeah, Candle & Yin-Yang had a bit of a falling out starting in episode 14 (Spring on the Breakfast), but hey, that wasn’t neither of their faults (well, kind of Yang’s fault for believing in Silver Spoon). It was Silver Spoon’s fault for manipulating Yin-Yang into thinking Candle had brainwashed him and Yin. And it wasn’t like Yin-Yang held some deep grudge against Candle afterwards. In the finale in episode 19 (You Can’t Do This Forever), they reconciled pretty quickly with Candle owning up to her guilt about leaving the team and apologising directly to both Yin and Yang. Yang called her out on it (in his classic blunt way), but it wasn’t some massive ego-driven meltdown or manipulation play. It was just honest feelings, quick accountability, and moving on. However, Yang never actually told Candle about how Silver Spoon manipulated him into turning against her and believing that she had brainwashed them, which is… questionable, but man, just imagine Candle finding out about just imagine Candle finding out about that manipulation. It would've been another layer of Silver Spoon's bullshit she had to deal with, even indirectly.

Yin-Yang actually treated her like an equal, not as a someone to take advantage of. Candle helped them balance their chaotic halves through meditation and grounding techniques, and it actually worked wonders for them when it comes to their ability to actually work together as a team. Like, think about what Candle actually achieved with Yin-Yang. She helped two halves of the same being, who spent most of season 2 actively trying to destroy each other, reach a genuine state of mindfulness together. And how did Yin-Yang respond to that? By actually putting in the effort. By actually growing. Yang, who in season 2 was practically feral, mellowed out enough to ask Yin for his opinion and treat him better.

Now compare that to what she poured into Silver Spoon.

She poured that same energy, that same patience, that same emotional generosity into Silver Spoon across the entire season. And what did she get back? A guy who at one point was literally trying to get her voted off. A guy who tried to blow out her flame in episode 4 like it was a party trick. A guy who, when things finally blew up in episode 18, had his Inner Flame knock her unconscious and then had the audacity to stand there holding her limp body looking confused, like he wasn’t the reason she was out cold in the first place. And the guy who time and time again showed that his ego was more important than actually respecting the one person who kept giving him chance after chance. 

Okay, it’s time for me to address something that got me confused. I might be wrong about this and feel free to correct me in the comments, but here it is.

The words MePhone wrote as inspiration for Silver Spoon’s core personality are “thinks he’s worthless.” SINCE WHEN?!

You telling me that this dude, the same dude who struts around like he's the reincarnation of the entire British monarchy, who treats people like they’re ‘beneath him?’ This regal-acting spoon "thinks he's worthless" deep down?

Look, I get that characters can have hidden insecurities. That's layered writing and makes them compelling. But from everything we've seen on screen, Silver Spoon's whole vibe is the opposite of someone drowning in self-worth issues. He struts like he's one step away from knighting himself, bosses people around, throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way, and treats the idea of being "beneath" anyone as an insult to his very existence. And when did he actually mention about feeling worthless on-screen? I’ve rewatched the relevant episodes multiple times, and I genuinely can’t find a single moment where Silver Spoon voices that insecurity outright. And this note is from the host himself. Not Silver Spoon, not anyone else, MEPHONE4! Yeah, Silver Spoon had shown some signs of vulnerability in a couple of episodes, but there wasn’t a single moment where he explicitly says or even heavily implies he thinks he’s worthless. 

Maybe, this might be another case of me misremembering or the show not outright spelling it out, so let me know if I missed something big there, because that “thinks he’s worthless” note from MePhone himself just doesn’t line up with what we actually see on screen. Maybe it’s meant to be this deep buried insecurity that fuels his massive ego as a coping mechanism, but other than a few vulnerable moments, it never really lands on-screen as “I feel worthless.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Silver Spoon is irredeemable. In practice, he is not a villain at all, he’s just an egoistical, self righteous guy who thinks the world revolves around him. He’s not some irredeemable villain twirling his moustache or anything like that. He’s just… a guy with a massive ego, a superiority complex, and a massive need for validation that ends up hurting the people closest to him more than it helps them.

So that’s my two cents on this whole take. What do y’all think? Do you also find Candle and Silver Spoon’s friendship toxic and that Candle deserves better, or am I completely off base? Let me know in the comments below. And oh, to those Silvercandle shippers who are ready to bring out the pitchforks, let me leave you with a few words:

A entertaining  dynamic ≠ a healthy friendship when it’s dysfunctional and filled with constant emotional manipulation, ego clashes, and endless whiplash cycles.

And last thought on the whole dynamic:

Entertaining to watch? Yessir! 

Healthy on any level? absolutely not.

Anyway, that’s my take on it, agree or disagree, I’m out. Catch you lot in the comments.

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. You probably really well that I have this made-up trio/alliance called F•R•C (Fanny, Remote, and Cake) that I've been yapping about nonstop for ages now. 

For those who don’t know, F•R•C is my fresh take on a trio of three contestants that I think would make for such a killer dynamic in TPOT. Fanny is the enforcer, Cake is the strategist, and Remote is the heart. If I could describe the trio, I would say that it’s basically like FreeSmart but way less dysfunctional and  more ride-or-die loyal. Their whole dynamic is basically this tight-knit chosen family-like group that sticks together through thick and thin. They even have their own mantra/slogan “F•R•C” Till We Die” which well explains their unbreakable bond. 

I have done most of the work, so now it’s your turn to finally give me your thoughts. It’s time for a game of “Should It Be Canon or Keep It Fanon?”

It’s very simple. Just simply tell me if you want F•R•C to be canon at some point in BFDI or keep it strictly as a fanmade concept and give me your reasons. And oh, I better not hear something like “they shouldn’t be canon because they never interacted.” Canon interactions aren’t a requirement for a fan concept to work and half the best BFDI fan content exists BECAUSE the show never explored certain dynamics. So none of that, please and thank you.

So I don’t really have any reasons why I think F•R•C should be canon other than they have so much potential as a trio and because the three of them are my three favourite characters in the whole entire show, so I’m a bit biased but at the same time, I wouldn’t say that they should be canon ONLY because  they’re my favourites. That’s just me being a fanboy, and that’s not a real argument, lol. So I’ll just say that I find it to have so much potential and that they would honestly make for one of the most engaging alliances/dynamics we have seen in a while. And with Cake’s new confident, independent and assertive personality as seen in TPOT 22 (YASS KING!), their personalities could clash in such an interesting way.

So yeah, drop your thoughts in the comments. Canon or fanon? The choice is yours, and I genuinely want to hear what you all think. Whether you just hopped on the bandwagon or you think it’s better left as a beloved fan concept, both answers are completely valid. Sometimes the best stuff lives in the fandom’s hands anyway. And for the second and last time, don’t give me half ass answers like ‘they shouldn’t be canon because they never interacted’ or ‘but Fanny hates everything and everyone’. Okay, Einstein! Who gives a shit if they never interacted as a trio? And besides, that ‘Fanny hates everyone’ excuse/joke is getting overused. DO better! 

Anyway, that’s all from me. Keep it civil, keep it creative, and I’ll be reading through your takes. And always remember:

F•R•C till we die. 🤘

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. In this post, I thought I would get creative and share my full vision for what a proper One villain song could sound like in BFDI/TPOT.

Before you say anything, no, this is not going to be a cheesy Disney-style villain number. I’m trying to redefine what a villain song can even be in this series. Traditional ones hype up the evil laughs, the schemes, the cackling power trip. But One’s whole deal is deeper and way more tragic. She’s not just some evil baddie who cackles about world domination while twirling a mustache. One’s story hits different, it’s about what solitary confinement can do to one person and how isolation slowly hollows you out until the only thing left is rage and emptiness. So I thought why not lean into that raw emotional core instead. So, here’s what I got.

I’d call it “No One Left to Save Me,” a Contemporary R&B/trap ballad with heavy K-pop production influences where One rejects any redemption or salvation because ‘there’s no one left to save her.’ For the inspirations, I go with a bit of Red Velvet, a bit of BLACKPINK, maybe a bit of Chris Grey, and maybe the Weeknd.

Usually, traditional villain songs focus on the power fantasy. Think about grand schemes, world domination, all that surface-level evil stuff. This one would flip it. It’s sad as hell as it explores the acceptance of who she is right now and how in her mind, there is no one in the world that could pull her back from the edge. It would explore themes of isolation and loneliness, trauma from long-term imprisonment, the slow descent into villainy, vengeance against the world/society that abandoned her, a full rejection of any salvation or redemption (that’s probably the main focus), and the cost of solitary confinement. TPOT 20 basically confirmed that One didn’t just wake up one day and decide “yeah, I’m evil now.” The episode framed her as someone who got mentally destroyed by fourteen straight years of isolation inside the Moon and a lot of people, including myself, have pointed out how insanely horrifying that actually is if you think about it for more than five seconds. Even the UN says prolonged solitary confinement beyond fifteen days can psychologically damage someone, and One was trapped there for FOURTEEN YEARS. That’s over five thousand days alone with nothing but your own thoughts echoing back at you.

And honestly? That’s what makes her such an interesting antagonist to me. She’s dangerous, manipulative, unstable, absolutely responsible for horrible things, but almost all of that was because Four and the others basically threw her into psychological oblivion and hoped the problem would disappear. TPOT 20 made it pretty clear that the Moon wasn’t just “a prison,” it was effectively solitary confinement dialled up to cosmic horror levels. Yeah, I know One killed Three in cold blood, but no one, even a murderer, deserves be sealed away alone for fourteen years with zero meaningful contact, especially with the amount of effects solitary confinement can have on the mind. Think shit like paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, dissociation, and a complete breakdown of identity. That’s not “rehabilitation,” that’s basically pressure-cooking a psyche until it cracks. 

I will leave the lyrics I made up down in the comments for you to check out. Fair warning, they’re a rough draft and I’m not a professional songwriter, but I think they capture the vibe I’m going for pretty well. Honestly, the bridge is my favourite part because it sounds kind of like a eulogy to her old self, the moment where she acknowledges who she was before and that she didn’t wake up one day and choose to become this. It hits really different when you frame it that way.

The two things that frustrates me about normal villain songs is that 1, most lean towards the cringy Disney sound. You know, the grand sweeping orchestra, the over-the-top monologue set to a pipe organ, the villain laying out their entire plan while doing jazz hands. It has its charm, and yeah, some of them absolutely slap (Hellfire is one of them. Heck, if we’re talking object shows, Taco’s Tirade is probably my favourite villain song and that song also has that traditional Disney sound to it). I want this song to lean towards the more modern sound like trap and R&B. And 2, most of the villain songs talk about the same thing. The lyrics would talk about one out of these 3-4 things: power fantasies, world domination, gloating about how everyone underestimated you, and scheming and plotting. Like seriously, how many times can we hear the same “I’m so evil and powerful, bow down to me” orchestral anthems before we get tired of it? Because personally, I’ve been tired of it for years. This song would appeal more to the modern generation and not just another Disney villain monologue set to strings.

So yeah, that’s basically the full vision I had for it. If I can summarise “No One Left To Save Me” in just a few sentences, it would be this:

One doesn’t believe in redemption nor wants it because, in her mind, there is literally nothing left in her that can be redeemed and that no matter what people try to do, she will forever be a monster and a tragic reminder of what happens when you take a person, strip away every trace of connection, and expect them to come out the other side unchanged. Not because she is too cocky to want redemption or thinks she’s above it, but because, at this point in her head, she’s already past the point of return, that she became too unhinged to be saved by anyone. And that’s the point that hits so hard because I personally would love to see a One redemption arc, but it would break my heart if One were to reject it because she thinks she can’t be saved.

Anyway, that’s basically the direction I’d take it. What do y’all think? Would you listen to it on repeat or would you listen to it on mute? Let me know in the comments below. If you have any suggestions for any tweaks, I’m open to hearing them too.

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now before this turns into a full essay longer than TPOT 20’s runtime, so I guess I will see you in the comments.

EDIT: I’m also thinking about if One were to have a redemption arc and a potential ‘reprise’ version featuring Two (who I think would most likely be the reason for her redemption arc) where it starts like normal, but the lyrics gradually shift in tone to acknowledge that yes, there was someone who saved her in the end. And I can imagine it being a symphonic metal version of the song.

Okay, so the BFDIA finale is 7 days away and y’all probably be like “Mr. TV, who are you rooting for in the finale?” Well, you are about to be in for a shock because my  allegiance is to team… NONE! 

Yep, you heard me correct! None of them! Not Book, not Needle. And y’all probably be like ‘pick a side damnit! You either rooting for one or the other.’ What if I don’t want to? And before you freak out like it’s a crime against humanity, I’m using ✨fReEdOm Of SpEeCh✨ whenever you like it or not.

Anyway, let me just get straight into it before I start losing my sanity and start World War III in the comments.

Before I begin, this is my opinions and my opinions only. It’s not meant to be  taken as fact or anything like that, so don’t come at me like I just insulted your entire bloodline.

Now with that out of the way, here are my two  main reasons why I’m on Team None.

The first reason is that neither Book nor Needle really feel like they deserve to be the finalists. In my opinion, both of them are boring and underwhelming. I just don’t really see the appeal in neither of them. Like, I know people are gonna jump in my replies saying “Book/Needle have development, they’re interesting, blah blah blah,” and I get it, I’ve heard that argument like 500 times already.

Firstly, Book only made it to the finale  because of pity votes. Book lost nearly every single challenge after a certain point and just coasted on people feeling bad for her or whatever. And as for her personality, nothing to write about. She’s just… there in my opinion. Kind of like the generic nice character who shows up, says some supportive stuff, and doesn’t really leave much of an impression beyond that. Her “development” feels more like the writers felt bad after all the stuff that happened to her earlier and just decided to push her forward with pity instead of actual strong moments.

Needle isn’t much better for me. Sure, she has that sassy, no-nonsense energy, but it got old fast. And plus, her arc is probably one of the most ridiculous and boring arcs I have probably seen. Her arc revolves around ‘winning for herself’. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock! That’s what every contestant is supposed to be doing! It’s not some groundbreaking character revelation when she’s been in the game for this long. And just like Book, there’s also nothing to write home about her either. Her whole “I’m doing this for me” thing just comes across as surface-level and her whole character is kinda boring.

My second reason (and this probably won’t really be a big one compared to my previous reason) is that I’ve simply never been a fan of post-hiatus BFDIA. This is something a lot of you probably might know about if you’ve been following my posts for a while. Post-hiatus BFDIA just never clicked with me the same way the pre-hiatus episodes did. Don’t get me wrong, the animation upgrade looks fantastic and the production value is through the roof, but the overall vibe, pacing, and character focus shifted in ways that left me less invested. Pre-hiatus is just too iconic and amazing to top in my view. The humor felt sharper, the character interactions more natural, and the overall energy of the show aligned better with what initially drew me and many others into the series. 

I know almost everyone in the OSC finds post-hiatus to be peak and even their favourite season/part of the show, and let me be honest with you, love what you love, but for me, it’s incredibly overrated and boring for my taste. I prefer TPOT which has more compelling arcs, higher stakes, and way better character writing overall. TPOT just feels like it knows what it wants to be and executes on it without trying too hard to be “nostalgic” or drift away from what they do best.

Now, I’m not too sure if I should put this as a third reason or if it should be apart of the first, but the finale gives me major ‘ maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way’ vibes, and not in a good, heartfelt way. Book and Needle have been close friends for almost the entirety of the season, which, correct me if I’m wrong, doesn’t really bring a meaningful or tense rivalry that would make for an exciting finale. It's more like watching two buddies compete in a friendly game rather than a high-stakes battle. You probably be like ‘firstly, have you heard of friendly rivalries? And secondly, the finale is about who was the strongest competitor in the end’. Yeah, I know what a finale is all about and I know there are such things as friendly rivalries. But when the two finalists have been buddy-buddy for pretty much the entire post-hiatus run, it just doesn’t hit the same. There’s no real tension, no stakes that make you sit on the edge of your seat wondering how it’s going to end. It feels more like a friendly competition between two pals who are just happy to be there together. It’s essentially a repeat of Flower vs Gelatin back in BFB, mostly because both pairs are close allies with very little actual conflict or rivalry driving the finale. Sure, there might be some light banter or one-off moments, but it doesn’t build that electric tension you want in a season-ending showdown.

And yeah, I’m not watching the episode (haven’t been watching a BFDIA episode for quite while now) and I couldn’t care less about the outcome at this point.

At the end of the day, my stance is pretty simple: I’m not Team Book, I’m not Team Needle… I’m Team None.

And honestly? That feels like the most consistent position I can take based on how I’ve felt about post-hiatus BFDIA in general. I know some people are gonna say I’m “missing out” or “not giving it a chance,” but I’ve already given it that chance for months. It just didn’t click the same way pre-hiatus did for me, and that’s fine.

So, what do y’all think about this? Are you also Team None or are you one of those people who’s fully locked in on Book or Needle and think I should just “pick a side” like it’s some moral obligation? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, because I already know this is either gonna turn into a civil discussion or a full-on OSC civil war.

If the finale somehow changes my mind (I’ll probably find out from social media), I’ll eat my words. Publicly. No copium, no excuses.

But I’m not holding my breath.

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. Today, I thought I’d share a headcanon I’ve been sitting on for a while now regarding One and Two. This is something I made up based on a combination of canon facts and a bit of speculation on my part, so take it with a grain of salt. With that out of the way, let’s get into it.

So, as we all know by now, One’s entire arc in TPOT has been about hunting down the other Algebralians both for revenge and for their powers, and the Algebralian she mostly targets is Two. And while it’s easy to assume that One’s targeting of Two is personal, like it is with the rest of the Algebralians, I actually don’t think that’s the case at all, which leads to my headcanon:

Out of all the Algebralians, One doesn’t actually hate Two. If anything, she respects them more than pretty much any other Algebralian out there.

The rest of them? Practically dead to her, especially Four. Although Two had outcasted One in the past like the rest of the them, One specifically finds the others dead to her for their role in sealing her away on the Moon for fourteen years. Two was off doing their own thing (or from what we saw in TPOT 21, too afraid to get involved back then), so they never took part in the sealing or the whole 2009 mess with Three. That already puts Two in a completely different category for One.

Also in this headcanon, One genuinely admires what Two has built with their show The Power of Two. She loves how welcoming, calm, and just genuinely inclusive it is, a competition that feels truly fair and open to everyone, in sharp contrast to BFB… or in One’s case in this headcanon, she’d probably call it “Four’s totalitarian regime.”

One knows what Four is as a host. She knows that Four usually screech, zap, mutilate, and just straight up abuse the contestants all while maintaining an iron grip on the contestants. One sees this as the opposite of what a proper competition host should be like. Two, on the other hand, runs things differently, calm, fair, and actually caring about the contestants and the integrity of the competition. In One’s eyes, that kind of approach is something worth admiring, especially after seeing what she views as Four’s more authoritarian style of hosting.

Her reason for targeting Two is not personal at all. If it were, she would have confronted Two directly, taken their power in a more brutal way like she plans with the others, and move on. The real reason is Two’s powers (and the other Algebralians) are a necessity. One needs all the power in the world to restore Three from her glitching and unstable state that she accidentally caused out of betrayal and pure rage. That’s the desperate drive behind everything: gathering every last bit of Algebralian power to fully restore Three to her former self, and whether One respects Two or not, that’s including Two’s powers.

Deep down, One carries a quiet, gnawing guilt over everything she has put Two through, despite the necessity driving her actions. This includes the destruction of their show’s planet, the erasure of their closest friend Gaty, and the complete unraveling of the welcoming community Two had worked so hard to build.

With the Defeat One trilogy coming, I can just imagine in TPOT 24, One secretly confronts Two and has a quiet, almost reluctant conversation with them before the real fight breaks out in TPOT 25 despite obviously being on opposite sides in the battle.

Anyway, that’s just my headcanon and probably something JNJ won’t end up confirming (because from what I see, JNJ rarely  gets ideas from its fans and usually prefers to cook things independently).

So what do y’all think? Are you hopping on this headcanon bandwagon or am I completely off in left field here? Let me know your thoughts down below. Curious to hear if anyone else reads their dynamic the same way or if I’ve just overcooked this one completely.

Cheers for reading 👍

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. I am making this post today to say… how am I not surprised! Jacknjellify just dropped on X that the two international spots for the BFDIA 25 screening are Brixton, London and Calgary, Alberta. London was an absolute lock because it’s the big British city that is probably one of the most predictable choices for them (huge BFDI fanbase in the UK, easy logistics, etc.). And for Canada? Of course they went with the “North American English-speaking country” option. And here’s the thing, I didn’t predict an exact location for Canada (maybe I did with Toronto or Vancouver). I said A city in Canada because it was the most obvious international English-speaking pick outside the United Kingdom.

No shade to them, but you could thrown a curveball and gone with a shocker like Dublin or even Tokyo. But nah, they played it safe and predictable as always. London + a major Canadian city was the easiest international duo they could've picked, and I called that as soon as the two international locations announcement came out. Like, you didn’t even need a crystal ball for this one.

And look, I get it. Those two are some of the well known cities in the world and the logistics are easier to work with. But the whole point is that they were the obvious, the boring, the predictable ones. Like, those picks are so bland, it would be in competition with Book or Needle for how boring they are. No offense to Book or Needle fans, of course.

But yeah, I said what I said. London and a Canadian city. Boom. Called it. No big brain prediction, no insider knowledge, nothing. For Canada, you could have told me it was in Regina or Whistler and I would still nod and be like “yeah, sounds about right.” And as for Brixton, same thing as Canada. You could have told me it was in Kingston upon Thames or Westminster and I would still nod and go “yep, makes total sense.” London is London. You don’t even need to specify the borough, because of course it’s somewhere in Greater London. Brixton just happened to be the specific spot they landed on, but it could have been Hackney, Islington, Camden, whatever, my prediction was always going to age well no matter where in that city they picked.

I mean, I’m not excited for BFDIA 25 as the next person. You probably all know that I am never a big fan of post-hiatus BFDIA and I will probably not watch the episode unless a massive moment happens, so it’s not like I’m personally invested in hyping up these screenings or anything.

What do y’all think? Was this as obvious to everyone else or am I just built different? And jacknjellify, if you guys are for some reason reading this (which you probably aren't), you could have picked somewhere actually interesting for once. Heck, come to Adelaide. Me and my fellow South Australians will welcome you with open arms, a few cartons of Farmer’s Union, and a few state of the art venues you can use for the screening.  You wanna go with the most popular one? Go with the Adelaide Entertainment Centre? Or do you fancy an outdoor stadium that hosted AFL games, cricket, Adele, Metallica (with Evanescence as the opening act) and later this year, Charlie Puth? The Adelaide Oval is your venue. Either way, Adelaide has the venues, the passionate fanbase, and the absolute audacity to host something like this. But I digress.

Anyway, that’s all I got for today’s post. This is Mr. TV, signing off! Peace! ✌️

G’day mates, Mr. TV here. Today, I am going to talk about one of the many contestants I rarely talk about it, either because I don’t like them or interest me that much. Today’s subject? Balloony, specifically his relevancy.

I’mma be honest, Balloony is really boring in my opinion. Nothing really interesting going on with him, really. Like yeah, he’s nice and friendly, and his friendship with Cloudy on BEEP is sweet and all, but that’s basically it. That’s the whole character. He’s just… the chill balloon dude who likes Rocky’s vomit for some reason. And his whole post-split run? He was on the Have Cots for like five minutes before getting booted first in “Take the Tower” with 3,516 votes. First eliminated in the entire post-split. FIRST. That tells you everything you need to know about how much of an impression he was leaving on people.

So for the longest time, if you asked anyone what they thought of Balloony, you’d probably get one of three responses:

1. “Oh yeah, that’s Cloudy’s best friend.”

2. “Oh yeah, he’s the dude that got eliminated first after the split.”

3. Wait, Balloony? Who’s that again?”

That was it. That was the whole discourse around this guy. He wasn’t loved, he wasn’t hated, he was just… there. Floating in the background. And honestly, makes sense… well in my opinion because I do find him pretty dull compared to the rest of the cast. No big moments, no real character development to speak of, no storylines that made you sit up and go “oh okay, THIS is interesting.” Just a pretty boring character.

And then TPOT 18 happens and out of all characters, it’s Balloony who was hanging out with the Announcer and got kidnapped by him. 

Okay, I gotta admit, yeah, it could be absolutely anyone, and yeah, it’s not like the show hasn’t done surprise focus characters before. I’m not trying to be the guy who is like ‘the more established characters should get the focus’ because that’s genuinely lame and I don’t wanna be that person. But I am absolutely stunned by the sheer randomness of it all. Like, out of everyone they could have picked, they went with Balloony. They picked the guy who most casual viewers (including myself) had mentally filed away under “a nobody, probably someone who won’t matter for the rest of the show.” And now suddenly he’s got a whole thing with the Announcer. 

And apparently (this is from my research on the internet), the Balloony-Announcer subplot is going to be a major ongoing storyline moving forward into the Defeat One trilogy thing that will begin in the next month or so. People are already speculating that the Balloony-Announcer thing is going to be one of those plotlines that gets resolved in the trilogy. Which means this random nobody suddenly gets tied into what is basically shaping up to be the biggest overarching storyline in BFDI’s modern era.

Wait, WHAT?!

Where the fuck was this dude before all of this?

Like seriously, let’s rewind the entire Balloony career for a second.

This is the same guy who: 

• Was Cloudy’s best friend

• Most just existed  in BEEP

• Got eliminated first in post-split like the voters were trying to make a point 

• Was one of those “oh right, that guy exists” contestants whenever people listed the cast.

• Didn’t have any significant arcs 

That’s his whole resume. And before you say, ‘but Balloony hosted in BFDIA 14–16. That came out before TPOT 18,” yeah, he did. I’m not gonna pretend that didn’t happen. But even that feels like one of those “oh right, this character exists, give him something to do for five minutes” situations rather than anything actually meant to develop him as a character.

Even if you include the hosting gig in BFDIA, my point still stands: Balloony is a textbook case of a background character and for the longest time, that was exactly where he should stay as, because for me,  there’s nothing exciting about him, there’s  nothing that suggests he should suddenly be important, and he was just a boring guy who I wouldn’t have batted an eye at if he disappeared from the show entirely and nothing changed.

Now, because of this, I just hope Balloony and Announcer encounter One and both of them get wiped out because there is no way in hell I’m supposed to suddenly care this much about a character who, up until like TPOT 18, I would’ve just shrugged and gone “oh right, it’s Balloony”

And before anyone says anything, I’m not trying to make you change your opinions or anything like that. If you like Balloony, cool, genuinely, more power to you. I’m not here to argue that he should stay irrelevant or whatever.

I just don’t get the sudden pivot

Like, it’s not even a “oh wow, they finally gave this character a moment to shine” situation. It‘s a “really? This dude? You telling me out of everyone in the entire cast, this is the guy you are going to build a major plot thread around” situation. We are talking about the same person who up until recently was basically living in the same tier as “background filler until someone remembers he exists.” And the saddest part about Balloony? The thing most people remember him from… is being the first  eliminated in post-split (and also being Cloudy’s best friend, who is equally forgettable, if we’re being brutally honest). 

And look, not to hate the guy or anything, but he shouldn’t be in the spot he is right now.  And I want to stress this again before people jump me in the comments: I don’t mean “he shouldn’t be allowed to exist” or some weird anti-Balloony agenda. I just mean narratively speaking, this feels like the most left-field “promotion to relevance” I’ve seen in a while in BFDI. He has a boring personality, his only real claim to fame was being “that balloon guy who hangs around Cloudy,” and that’s basically his whole role in the ecosystem of BFDI. I can name a few other people who are just like Balloony, but he is a prime  example of a character who just sort of exists and should stay in the background. it’s for the best and… I genuinely don’t think I’m being unreasonable saying that.

So yeah. That’s where I’m at. Balloony relevancy came out of absolutely nowhere and I’m still trying to process why that specific balloon is suddenly part of the big story. Curious if anyone else feels the same or if I’m just completely underestimating Balloony.