This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, tv shows and movies being covered in Fangirlish Feels of the Week wouldn’t exist. We stand with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
We watch a lot of TV and movies! And we read a lot of books too, not to mention the time we spend on TikTok. In case all the reviews, interviews, news, and features didn’t give you a clue (wink, wink), we come together to highlight all those great moments that our favorite shows, movies, and books give us throughout the week. On these Fangirlish Feels of the Week, there are five categories and many thoughts! Ready?
Here we go!
Moment that made you collapse into a puddle of FEELS
Shana: The part of Twisted Metal 1×06 when Quiet just…breaks. down. The “I can’t let go” part, if you will.
Ashley T.: Finding out that Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo wrote the songs for next week’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” made me fangirl so hard that I very nearly and quite literally fell out of my chair!
She wrote some of the songs and performed Josie’s vocals in Josie & the Pussycats, which is my second favorite movie of all time. It was like this crazy full circle moment for me. It was like high school me and adult me high fived. This is going to be good!
Rachel: As a film fan, the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the same time is really heartening to see. And even more feels came from an unexpected side effect: Oppenheimer’s Josh Hartnett is getting some popular attention. Girlies who were teens in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s approve.
Christabel: Secret Invasion didn’t conclude the way I expected it to; with Nick Fury finding a home for the Skrulls. One of the moments from the finale episode that got me emotional was between Nick Fury and Varra. Fury openly declares his love for Varra while she’s in her Skrull form and it’s beautiful to witness.
We’d seen Varra’s fear during the entire season that Fury wasn’t in love with her but the face she took on, but he proved that all this time he loved her. Realizing Secret Invasion was all about Fury’s love life and him coming back to Earth for his wife just made me soft inside.
WTF Moment of the Week
Shana: When I become a Batman villain, y’all are going to know why…
So, Suits is doing killer numbers on Netflix—as it deserves! But so many people who should know better are framing the entire thing around Meghan Markle.
Now, did Meghan do incredible work on the series…with the exception of that time in, like, the fourth season where Rachel was just unbearable? Yes. A thousand times yes.
…but was she at all to Suits what, say, Jeremy Allen White is to The Bear? No. Was it “her” show? Absolutely not. Was she the center of the [insert ever-changing firm name here] universe? Not even close. And, frankly, it’s not only disrespectful AF to everyone else who worked on the show…but it’s also disrespectful AF to her, too.
Meghan Markle isn’t a name you can use to drive clickbait over ~royal shit~, and if you’re going to put her front and center when covering things about Suits, maybe show that you know literally anything at all about her work on the series, her character, and what they meant to the greater universe when you do. But y’all can’t bother.
Anyway. While we’re at it, I’m still waiting for my can opener.
Lyra: I know what I was doing when I sent Shana a tweet that prompted the above response. *sips annoyingly*.
Ashley W.: I don’t mind that there were no cameos from any superheroes—I actually liked that. But really, Marvel? What kind of finale was that for Secret Invasion? It was, unsurprisingly, rushed—just as nearly every finale for Marvel’s Disney+ shows has been.
But there was so much potential here! it really failed to deliver on the high-stakes spy thriller front, and it was more about setting up what’s to come in the MCU than it was with concluding the Secret Invasion show itself.
Rachel: I have to agree about Secret Invasion. So much about it has been a mess and the finale just solidified that. Many plot choices were cringe, especially the use of Rhodey.
Ashley T.: Man, finding out that M’Benga was The Butcher of J’Gal in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2×08 “Under the Cloak of War,” definitely had me shouting at the TV. Blew me away.
Christabel: They Cloned Tyrone is one of those Netflix films that makes you think some of the craziest conspiracies going around in the internet might be real and happening right under our noses. Fontaine (John Boyega), Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and Yo-Yo (Teyonna Parris) break into an underground facility that is cloning and mind controlling black people in the town.
When Fontaine finds the scientist behind the experiments it turns out to his older self and honestly I was shocked. But what shocked me even more was the ending scene that revealed another man who looks exactly like Fontaine watching the news reports about the clones.
One of his friends calls him Tyrone! So is he another clone or like the movie title suggests is he the original. I’m blown away, confused and shocked at the same time so Netflix better be working on a sequel!
Tik Tok That Made Me LOL
Shana: I’m feeling equal parts petty and nostalgic. Have a Suits gag reel.
Lyra: Ron Perlman has an alibi. He was nowhere near the Warner Bros. lot.
Christabel: John Boyega passing out while doing an interview is hilarious.
What We’re Reading This Week
Ashley W.: I still have yet to watch the first season of Heartstopper on Netflix, because I insisted I needed to read the books first. So, with season 2’s arrival near, I finally got around to reading Heartstopper Volumes 1 and 2 so that I can start watching the show.
The graphic novels are absolutely delightful, adorable, and a great way to get back into a reading rhythm. I quite literally aww-ed at several moments and found the artwork and lettering, albeit simple, to really match the tone of the narratives perfectly.
Ashley T.: I’m a few issues behind, but I’m really enjoying the current run of She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell, Jen Bartel, and Rico Renzi. If you’re a She-Hulk fan, this new run is definitely worth your time and a trip to your local comic book shop.
Amanda: I finished rereading Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen in preparation for Love in Taipei and moved right into another book to prepare for another movie adaptation: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.
What We Rewatched This Week
Ashley W.: July 22 is one of my absolute favorite days of the year, because it’s the anniversary of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode 7×09: “As I Have Always Been.” It’s easily my favorite in the entire 136-episode series. I also think it’s the best episode of the seven-season show—and the IMDB rating can back me up on that. So I, of course, rewatched it on its anniversary.
This time loop episode is tremendously written by Drew Z. Greenberg and features a phenomenal directorial debut by Elizabeth Henstridge, who plays Jemma Simmons in the show. From drama and suspense to humor and heartbreak, it has a little bit of everything that makes AoS great.
But the cherry on top of it all is that it is THE episode for my OTP. I could write several essays about Daisy and Sousa based on this episode alone. My fangirl levels are always at their highest when I watch their scenes in this.
Rachel: While I didn’t rewatch whole eps, I did treat myself to rewatching many of the great, romantic musical numbers from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. How they turned “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” into an incredible love ballad, I’ll never know. Still a Clarkeman– aka Zoey and Max– shipper until the end!
Ashley T.: I watched and rewatched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2×07 “Those Old Scientists” this week. It’s so much fun to watch my cartoons become live action and vice versa. And it’s still funny every time I watch it, which means it’s *that* good. *chef’s kiss*.
Lyra: I’ve decided to catch up on the seasons of Rupaul’s Drag Race I’ve missed out on. Season 8 worked for me but season 9 is boring so far. But I guess Valentina is there so that’s an advantage. It’ll give me more context for Drag Race Mexico.
Christabel: Started rewatching The Office 1×01 this week and Dwight and Jim’s friendship was really what always made the show great to binge whenever I need some cheering up.
