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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I love Avatar: Seven Havens! It skews slightly younger like ATLA, introducing a post-apocalyptic setting that revitalizes the Avatar world in a similar way to Legend of Korra - both visually and in terms of its political themes.

tvguide.com

Avatar: Seven Havens Review: A Triumphant Return for the Animated Last Airbender Franchise - TV Guide

The Avatar universe reinvents itself with this vibrant tale of post-apocalyptic recovery

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

yes the live action one is Netflix made by different people, and the Aang movie is separate and should've come out like a year ago.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

a few weeks ago a friend was talking about how she'd "heard the new Avatar show is really bad" and it was like. literally no one had seen it yet. they hadn't even sent screeners out.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

unfortunately there's a very vocal subset of ATLA fans who are one of the most negative fandoms i've ever come across, so this new show has already faced bad-faith backlash before it even came out.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

tvguide.com

Avatar: Seven Havens Review: A Triumphant Return for the Animated Last Airbender Franchise - TV Guide

The Avatar universe reinvents itself with this vibrant tale of post-apocalyptic recovery

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My final Lanterns recap is here! A solid ending that does right by John Stewart... but definitely doesn't beat the Surf Dracula allegations. (All of my Lanterns recaps are now available to FREE subscribers!)

fansplaining.com

Lanterns: The Oath

In the season finale, John uncovers another of Rushville’s secrets—and reveals the unexpected culprit behind Hal’s murder.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

this is perfect because i love fortitude AND i'm staying with my mother this week, a kaiju fiend.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

absolutely starting this tonight... love an ominous nautical yarn

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

yeah that's basically what i mean, arrowverse is light entertainment whereas lanterns is attempting to be weighty and failing.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

yeah stuff like the flash serves a different purpose to this!

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

my actual take on this film is that the screenplay is incredibly hackneyed. but Claire and I will be going into that on the pod later on.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Gav's analysis of this show within broader corporate machinations is so smart. I get exceedingly frustrated when critics assess franchise media with a patronizing "this kind of thing will never be meaningful so it's great for what it is." The terms of 'success' might differ, but they still...exist.

Text reading: As the TV industry contracts, it gets harder for creators to find funding for original stories. Every streaming service is now pouring money into their own big-name IP adaptations, but this obsession with profitable nerd media is only half of the problem. The other half is the fact that these shows just aren’t held to a high enough standard, which feels especially awkward as HBO attempts to market The Penguin and Lanterns as “HBO shows.”

Instead of delivering the franchise spinoff equivalent of Succession or Chernobyl (or True Detective, the show that Lanterns wants to be), HBO’s slate of Warner Bros. franchise titles is solidly mediocre: Dune: Prophecy, IT: Welcome to Derry, The Penguin, and now Lanterns. DC’s streaming-only shows on HBO Max, Peacemaker and Doom Patrol, don’t seem to be aiming for the same kind of prestige drama tone, and may well have turned out better as a result.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I also have a lot of thoughts on how Lanterns plays into the dire trajectory of Warner Bros. under David Zaslav (and now Paramount), with HBO diluting its prestige drama reputation with a slew of creatively inert franchise spinoffs.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

fansplaining.com

Lanterns: The Oath

In the season finale, John uncovers another of Rushville’s secrets—and reveals the unexpected culprit behind Hal’s murder.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Once again, the Nobel prizes have been given to a bunch of nerds while all the recent advances that jocks have made in football go unrecognised 😞

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As @gavia.bsky.social writes her analysis of the Lanterns finale (no, HBO did not allow critics to see it in advance 🥲) it's the perfect time to catch up on recaps 1-7, which we've unlocked for free members!

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Lanterns finale is out tonight! There's still time to catch up with my recaps!

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

we've got defensemen scoring who i haven't even heard of

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

what if the pittsburgh penguins are the best team in the nhl

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I was also curious about that because I don't think any published romance authors would do this for the (nonexistent) ~exposure

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

obvs the majority of hockey romance books are hetero, but Heated Rivalry is still the biggest name, and it's soooo wild to see the NHL try to capitalize on that when there are no out players and the league literally rolled back support for pride nights.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

the formative generation of hockey fanfic writers worked pretty hard to maintain the fourth wall between players and fandom, and now the NHL is actively promoting parasocial fandom in a way that feels actively insulting to everyone involved.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

i'm actually in awe of how tone-deaf and ineffectual this campaign is lol. it manages to be offensive to hockey romance fans, RPF fans *and* RPF haters, and women sports fans in general.

cosmopolitan.com

The NHL’s ‘Hot for Hockey’ Campaign Misses What Women Fans Have Been Asking For All Along

Hockey romance fans deserve better than wink-wink audiobooks and zero accountability.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

[Deep breath} When you predict Oscar nominations for a movie based on pedigree without seeing it, you are volunteering to aid in a publicity system that favors movies the campaigns for which are already well funded, and by doing so further disadvantaging films whose primary merit is their quality.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

no uk release date yet for the nathan fielder/elizabeth holmes doc?????

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I think this is my fav Schoenbrun movie, in part because it's just so FUN. Gillian Anderson is hilarious and the dual casting of her and Einbinder is totally perfect for the material.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yeah, I think it's really having trouble functioning as a crime/mystery drama. They're aiming for a prestige crime show atmosphere but the writing quality doesn't measure up, *and* it lacks a sense of enthusiasm for the appeal of Green Lantern as a concept.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The level of detail awarded to Zoe and the Manhunters still feels like a major gap in the show's worldbuilding, but IDK if they even have room in the finale to elaborate on that backstory while also wrapping up Hal's murder AND John's relationship to the Lanterns.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

As per my last two recaps, Lanterns is also struggling to find its feet as a murder mystery. The investigation storyline just doesn't measure up to a decent HBO-style crime drama. Minimal depth for supporting characters, and several plot points rely on us just believing stuff without evidence.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Ahead of the Lanterns finale, the #1 thing I want to see is John Stewart jailbreaking the Green Lantern ring and becoming an independent superhero. I don't think the show works *without* that ending!

fansplaining.com

Lanterns: Inside the Failsafe

In episode 7, Hal’s murder investigation picks up speed and the show makes a welcome pivot to Green Lantern’s spacefaring roots.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

the next 4 are available to free subscribers, you just have to sign up! but later recaps are paywalled because paid subscriptions fund the site.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In the penultimate episode of Lanterns, we finally spend some time in space—but as @gavia.bsky.social writes, "Everything alien is kept at arm’s length in this show." Read her critiques of Lanterns' uneasy genre balance, shying away from sci-fi, but not willing to commit to mystery or thriller:

fansplaining.com

Lanterns: Inside the Failsafe

In episode 7, Hal’s murder investigation picks up speed and the show makes a welcome pivot to Green Lantern’s spacefaring roots.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It's almost October!! And at The Rec Center, that means it's almost time for 🎃 SEASONAL FIC RECS 🎃. - Vampires, werewolves, zombies, other supernatural creatures - Horror, eerie vibes - Halloween-specific stories (including fluff!) Canonical characters/worlds or AUs—please send us your favorites!

form.jotform.com

✨ The Rec Center Fic Submissions ✨

Please click the link to complete this form.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

As we approach the Lanterns finale next week, catch up on @gavia.bsky.social's recaps of the season—you can now read (or listen to an audio version of) episodes 1-4 for free! Start here:

fansplaining.com

Lanterns: Are You Afraid?

In episode 1, Hal Jordan and his protégé, John Stewart, investigate a shooting in small-town Nebraska.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

oh god yeah I heard about this on a news podcast. really scary. there was a similar situation with a high school football team right?

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

the increasingly exasperated undertone in my Lanterns recaps... a true "couldn't they just have done this Better" situation.

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

anyway the first four of my Lanterns recaps are now available to FREE subscribers, plenty of time to catch up before the final two eps air. 💕

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Gavia Baker-Whitelaw @gavia.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

when he changed into that suit and it fit i was like WHAT.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Justin Carter @gigawattconduit.blacksky.app · 22/09/2026

“That’s what happens when you kill Foggy” no you fanbrained dipass, that’s what happens your big bet on streaming collapses and you gotta dump weight to keep it afloat

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It gets worse: Dem FCC member: “The FCC just let some of the most repressive governments in the world indirectly control nearly all of a combined Paramount-Warner Bros.” An investment of this size “doesn’t just buy equity, it secures influence over what gets said & made.” apnews.com/article/para...

apnews.com

FCC grants Paramount's indirect ownership request for Gulf funds in Warner Bros. Discovery buyout

As Paramount looks to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s racked up billions of dollars in financial backing from three Gulf countries.

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Reposted by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

You read that right: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar will, thanks to the approval of Trump's FCC, own 49.5% of Paramount Warner Brothers, and CBS, and CNN. One of many things to keep in mind when you cast your vote in the next six weeks.

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