Twenty-five years ago this morning, I was lying in bed in a dorm room at Bluefield College. It was the fall semester of what would eventually turn out to be my first senior year. One of my roommates had gotten up before me and gone into the bathroom to take a shower. He turned on … Continue reading Twenty-Five Years Later, I Still Remember Where I Was
Greendale’s Revolving Door: How Community Kept Its Soul Through Every Cast Change
Most sitcoms treat their cast list like a load-bearing wall. Pull one person out and the whole structure is supposed to come down. Cheers survived Shelley Long leaving, sure, but that's the exception people cite precisely because it's rare. Usually when a beloved character exits a show, the show either quietly deflates or spends the … Continue reading Greendale’s Revolving Door: How Community Kept Its Soul Through Every Cast Change
The Character Couch – Anakin Skywalker
Pull up a chair. Today's guest arrives in a full-body respirator, which is going to make the active listening portion of this session a little difficult, but we'll manage. Anakin Skywalker is one of the strangest cases the Couch has ever taken on, because he's not really one patient. He's two. There's the nine-year-old slave … Continue reading The Character Couch – Anakin Skywalker
Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
There's a moment near the end of Metal Gear Solid, right after Snake has destroyed REX and stopped Liquid, when Colonel Campbell tells him something almost throwaway. To keep the government from hunting him down, Snake will simply be registered as killed in action. He saved the world and the reward is that the world … Continue reading Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
Rewatching Smallville – Episode 113
Welcome back to Rewatching Smallville, my weekly dive into the iconic series that explores Clark Kent’s journey before becoming Superman. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the show, you’re invited to join in each Tuesday as I revisit episodes and share my thoughts and observations. Be sure to share your own memories and … Continue reading Rewatching Smallville – Episode 113
Disney 27 – Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company 1988 Directed by George Scribner Welcome back to Movie Monday. First Monday of the month means we set aside the countdown of my hundred least favorite movies and spend some time with a Disney film I actually love. Last month it was The Great Mouse Detective, a movie that arrived at a … Continue reading Disney 27 – Oliver & Company
The Ledger Will Burn
Mara Okafor had eleven minutes before her Provision score reset, and she was going to spend every one of them somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. The maintenance shaft beneath Sector 12 smelled like ozone and old rain. She dropped the last three feet onto the access grate, boots silent on the metal, and checked … Continue reading The Ledger Will Burn
Question of the Week #502
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! This one also comes courtesy of Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions, and it's the kind of question that sounds like a thought experiment until you realize how many people are quietly living out some version of it right now. Here it … Continue reading Question of the Week #502
When the Slayer Couldn’t Save Everyone: Buffy’s Most Heartbreaking Hours
Buffy the Vampire Slayer built its reputation on a trick that shouldn't have worked. Take a horror premise, hand it to a teenager with a stake and a smart mouth, and somehow make it funny. For most of its run, that's exactly what the show did. Vampires burst into dust with a joke on their … Continue reading When the Slayer Couldn’t Save Everyone: Buffy’s Most Heartbreaking Hours
Central Perk Conspiracies: The Fan Theories Friends Never Asked For
There's a strange thing that happens to a show once it's been off the air long enough. The jokes stay funny, the outfits get rewatched ironically, and somewhere along the way the internet decides the show was secretly about something much darker than anyone intended. Friends has been out of first-run production for over two … Continue reading Central Perk Conspiracies: The Fan Theories Friends Never Asked For
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