Marill Re-Re-Reads Bittersweet (again)

One year and a half later I'm finally moving on, with the story. I don't move on from real stuff, sheesh

"Maybe if you weren't sucking up to the press you would be agreeing with me," Jessie said.

"I'm sucking up to the press? Since when?" Lena asked.

Yes this absolutely sounds like a Lena thing to do

"You said you had a lot of awful secrets, I was trying to make sure that none of them came out. The entire planet nearly found out about your relationship," Lena replied.

"Ok, that's what you want to believe. Anyway the rest of our secrets have nothing to do with..." Jessie said.

"Yeah, but the press are tricky. You could accidentally reveal what you did when you were five if you're not careful with them," Lena said.

And?

Ack Test of Time flashbacks, never mind!

"Look Lena, we're better at keeping secrets than you are. We didn't need you to do all the talking," Jessie said.

"She's got a point there," James said.

Well apart from the fact that most people "guess" you two are an item before you even are one, yes she does. For once I'm not being that sarcastic. Interactions/True Q and the baby drama, Disconnected James has a sister, Duncan. Yes I think they're more than qualified to lie to the press

"I'm pretty sure he does. He sticks up for you all the time. If you murdered somebody in bloodlust he'd probably still keep sticking up for you," Lena said.

James: true but I would be a bit miffed about her stealing another of my gimmicks (still hawt though)

Jessie: ;)

"So what, he's my friend. He's allowed to stick up for me if he wants. But what you're saying is that he doesn't have his own opinion," Jessie said.

ohh damn

if this were an argument in a better scene and circumstances, I'd be removing so many sins for Jessie

But since this is Jessie turning bitter and antagonistic instead of Lena, cos god forbid, then she only gets one.

Jessie's Sin Points: -1

"Oh he does, it's just clouded by the fact that he fancies a selfish little cow," Lena said.

"Selfish cow! Speak for yourself!" Jessie screamed.

I NO RITE, SPEAK FOR YOURSELF AND TAKE YOUR OWN STORYLINE BACK

It's okay, I'm sure that since the characters have been swapped, the consequences of this will be...

*sobs*

"Well you just take part in this band to beat your own daughter," Jessie replied.

Twice in the same episode Jessie has used the words beat in regards to Kiara. She can't be doing this by accident.

"It does. We didn't need a stupid competition to get big on this planet. You just took part to show your kid up," Jessie said.

Now, maybe I could've salvaged Bittersweet without a boot if I changed who slagged off whom before this argument, cos...

Jessie's Sin Points: -5 *high five girl*

"Really? Why did we take part in the competition then?" Jessie asked.

"I don't know," Lena replied.

WRECKED

Jessie's Sin Points: -1

"Would you two stop arguing, you're attracting everyone's attention," James said.

HUSH JAMES, JESSIE IS TAKING OUT YOUR GARBAGE

"No. I don't see why you have to have such horrible opinions about other bands," Lena said.

"I don't, I didn't even say anything about the other bands," Jessie said.

See, even Jessie's confused. Who went in and swapped the names around?

For a moment, she repeats bad cover and less singles and I die more inside.

"This is ridiculous, I don't see why I have to put up with this anymore. I'm leaving," Jessie said.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way," Lena said. Jessie stormed off, James followed her.

You're not sorry, and don't think for a second that this give Jessie the "be a bitch" part of the plot is gonna make people forget.

"Good going Lena, I think you and Jess have just given Virus a bad reputation," Craig said.

HOLY S$$$

NOW CRAIG'S GETTING IN ON IT, DESTROYED

"What was all that about?" Kiara asked.

"I don't know to be honest. One thing lead to another," Lena replied.

AND WE'LL NEVER KNOW

EXCEPT I DO, now and not during my initial re-read, AND I'M NOT TELLING, yet

"Well I think Jess should be careful if you ask me," Kiara said.

"What do you mean?" Craig asked.

"Well she did say stuff about Jailbreaker. Even though they've only had one really good single in a few months, they're still really popular. They're like what Hear'say used to be like," Kiara said.

whooooooooooooooooooo?

"Yeah, they were really popular after just one song. I suppose on Earth other bands could get away with saying bad stuff about them, but here? Dissing Jailbreaker is just like dissing somebodies family member to a fan," Kiara said.

"Well, I hate to say it but Jessie deserves all she gets after that. She was in a sure b**chy mood," Lena said.

Memorise that last part. I want you all to remember that not only does Lena think Jessie deserves any kind of fallback from what was said. You know, the stuff that should have been said by the band obsessed little girl with an identity crisis, not the pessimistic woman who has worried about even the slightest thing.

"Some compassion. The least she could get is some bad press questions, the worse she can get is to be attacked by Jailbreaker fans," Kiara said.

This is how four year olds talk

"Well, yeah. Remember music is just as important to them as food is to us," Kiara replied.

"Well Jessie knows that, besides she can take care of herself," Lena said.

HMM I WONDER IF SOMETHING BAD'S GONNA HAPPEN TO JESSIE

NAH, DON'T BE DAFT. THERE'S BEEN NO HINTS AND JESSIE IS A BADASS WHO NEVER GETS HURT, AND SHE'S WITH JAMES WHO NEVER LOSES FIGHTS. WHAT CAN HAPPEN?

"Yeah, but what happens if there's about ten fans or more that attack her or something," Craig said.

"Well she's got a Slayer with her, I'm sure she'd be okay," Lena said.

OH SORRY, I DIDN'T REALISE YOU WERE STILL NUDGING, NOW I'M CONVINCED THAT JESSIE WILL WALK DOWN THE STREET, GET AN ICECREAM THEN SKIP BACK TO THE SHIP. JAMES GETS PRESENTED WITH THE MEDAL ON SCREEN HERO OF THE HOUR FOR NO REASON. THE END

"I don't see why you two were arguing. It was all about nothing," James said.

Isn't that Season Two in a nutshell

OH SN..I made myself sad

Jessie was literally fuming.

Fuming definition: the process of exposing wood to ammonia fumes in order to produce dark tints.

Sheesh Jessie, use paint like everyone else

"Yeah well, where are we going?" James asked.

They both turned a corner and they found themselves at a dead end.

Duh, to our designated get attacked stage. Haven't you read the script?

"This place is crazy, why is there a dead end?" James asked.

"I don't know, but Lena's not the only thing that's driving me crazy at the moment," Jessie replied.

Now kiss? The end

They both heard something that sounded like several footsteps.

"This is good, we could ask for directions," Jessie said.

Hey guys, do you know where a girl can get her episodely killing? Soon ish please, I'm bored

"Either that, or they will ask for a little punch up," James said.

"Why would they.... oh," Jessie muttered.

OH James is so famous around here, people would pay him to punch them in the face, off screen is free but on screen there's a fee. You know the Ligers are weird, someone should tell them about autographs

"Why would there be a big group like this hanging around in a place like this?" Jessie asked.

see, she didn't get what James really meant, so what did she think??

"Well they're obviously not here for autographs and a picture," James replied.

James there's a time and place for sarcasm, it's never when you're faced with as of yet unemotional mob.

"Erm, do you have your commbadge on you? I had no where to put mine," Jessie asked.

James searched his pockets but he couldn't find it.

"We did pass some odd looking people. I think one of them pinched it," James replied.

This part of the story was planned from the beginning.

Read and weep at the stupidity and forcedness of it

The group got a little closer to the pair, and the screen faded out.

James: IT'S MORPHIN TIME

Crowd: OH S$$$

RIP ANGRY MOB

Voyager, the next day
The Ready Room:
Kathryn was sitting behind her desk having her usual fifth morning coffee.

I see what you did there

and yes "the next day"

and oh boy, Bittersweet isn't done, it has this gem

"Captain, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?" Chakotay asked.

"Good," Kathryn replied.

"Well erm, Pulse released Turn Back Time as a single," Chakotay said.

"That's brilliant, I'll have to get myself a copy. What's the bad news?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay looked at Tuvok.

"Crewman Rex and Ensign Stuart were found this morning," Tuvok said.

Apparently James was found walking away from a pile of unconscious or dead people. How strange. Jessie was asking them for directions for some reason.

"That's good, I was really getting worried about them," Kathryn said.

"You were?" Chakotay said questioningly.

wait for it

"Well lets just say they're in a Liger hospital getting treated for severe injuries," Chakotay said.

Chakotay: Oh, but great news about Kiara's band huh?

Janeway: Sure sure, what's the bad news?

Tuvok: Kill me

"Well Crewman Rex did have a bit of an argument with Lena about the band Jailbreaker," Tuvok said.

"Supposedly Jessie said a little too much. The police think that they could of been attacked by Jailbreaker fans," Chakotay said.

"That figures. Can't we have one shore leave where those two don't cause trouble?" Kathryn asked.

Oh how nice. I'm so glad these two have such a nice crew that care about them, and...

$^%$*&*(^)&(*

Recapping here: Jessie randomly blurted out that a popular band did covers and she didn't like them, and (thankfully) didn't single spam the charts like they did. James agrees as he has no will of his own. This band's biggest fans corner them in a dead end, after pick pocketing them, and leave them both with severe injuries. Janeway asks what happened. Both Tuvok and Chakotay say they deserved it. Janeway rolls her eyes and thinks about leaving them behind so her beloved daughter can be FV's Seven of Nine without having scenes stolen from her again.

"According to Miss Johnstone, Liger's medical technology has had it's set backs over the years. Lets just say with the pair's injuries they'd be better off in our Sickbay," Tuvok said.

OH OF COURSE

I HAVE AN IDEA............

"Why won't the officials allow them to be transferred?" Kathryn asked.

"Well it's citizens were responsible for their injuries. The authorities want to fix the problem," Chakotay replied.

"From what I've heard it won't fix the problem. Those fans will still hate them," Kathryn said.

Sounds like Voyager still hates them, let alone Jailbreaker fans. How are they better off?

"Does Duncan know about this?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay: 'Sup kid

Duncan: Why?

Chakotay: yeah your mum said some stupid s$$$ no one but maybe twitter trolls would really care about, and now she's been beaten nearly to death. Dad too cos he left his off screen at home.

"No, Lena's looking after him, and she doesn't know about the attack either," Chakotay replied.

So she's looking after Duncan, after having a spat with his parents, when really she'd have no reason to if they were fine. This is perfectly reasonable

Tuvok raised his eyebrow. "I could be of assistance."

"It's ok, Tuvok. I can do this alone," Kathryn said.

Two hours later the aliens/Ligers are still waiting for her arrival, while she gorges herself on Liger Nescafe

"Nonsense, they'll be up and about in a few hours," Doctor Iko said.

"What were their injuries anyway?" Kathryn asked.

"Well Jessie was brought in with a severe concussion, fractured ribs, deep cuts on her arms and face. James didn't have it as easy as she did.." Doctor Iko said.

Janeway: gosh what drama queens, tell them to get back to "work" pronto, I won't stand for this skiving

"Well he came in with the same injuries as her, except he had more of them. Lets just say that we managed to treat most of Jessie's injuries straight away, it's just her fractured ribs will be sore for a few weeks. I'm afraid with James he will be released with a few more lasting injuries than Jessie," Doctor Iko said.

I have no idea why James' injuries are being dragged out like this.

"I don't know how he did it, but he broke his upper leg really badly. We've treated most of the damage, but he's going to have to go easy on it for a while. And his concussion wasn't as easy to treat, he'll probably have to put up with headaches for a long time," Doctor Iko replied.

Yeah um, OR he can be fixed by Voyager in two minutes. this is really very dumb and pointless.

"If a Liger was brought in with the same concussion, it would be a few months. But Humans have weaker skulls than Ligers do," Doctor Iko replied.

"He is a natural born Slayer. According to my daughter those kind of Slayers are not as easy to injure, how come he got worse injuries than Jessie did?" Kathryn asked.

Considering Jessie's bad luck lately, that is amazing

"Well that Slayer thing will explain why he isn't dead at the moment," Doctor Iko said.

Nope, don't buy it. If he only survived brain damage/concussion because he has higher endurance, then why is the damage worse than Jessie? He still got injured like a human would but ...

oh screw this, lol James dies and comes back all the time, harhar

"It seems like those fans tried to injure James more than they wanted to injure Jessie. Apparently she was the one saying all those things about Jailbreaker," Kathryn muttered.

Lena: teehee, and I got away with it too thanks to those meddlesome usurpers attempters. Nice try

"I heard from the press that Jessie did say something about Jailbreaker not having as much singles as Virus. But James supposedly said something about the quality of Jailbreaker's songs," Doctor Iko said

HANG HIM, HANG HIM FROM HIS LIP

I really hope that they don't like Justin Timberlake or Rihanna, or I'd be tied to the stake with spiders thrown on me, no doubt

"It's okay Jessie, you're just in a Liger hospital," Kathryn said softly.

Jessie looked around. "Where is James, is he ok?" she asked.

Jessie's Sin Points: -1

"I think they were Jailbreaker fans. One second me and James were lost, and the second we were being attacked," Jessie replied.

I'm not expecting a blow by blow from the victim, but I did expect more than that

"Yeah, a lot of them just ran over to us both. One knocked James out first, and they beat him up when he was unconscious. Then they went for me," Jessie replied.

HE'S AN IMPOSTER

OR THAT'S THE PICKPOCKET, AND THEY STOLE THE OFF SCREENINATOR

I "love" how Janeway must remind the readers while telling this doc that James is a superhuman, but Jessie's first detail is they knocked him out first.

I'm not asking for ass kissing of the other Slayer character, calling foul because he and Lena should be invulnerable (lawl), all I'm asking for is some sense in this mess. Even Janeway questions this

"How did they knock him out first, he's a Slayer after all," Kathryn asked.

"They wanted him down first. They just held me back and made me watch what they did to him, and they then knocked me out," Jessie replied.

Yeah um, wtf that's dark

"We were wondering why they injured James more than you. Maybe they just wanted to torture you in more ways than one," Kathryn said.

"The b***rds, for that I hate them even more," Jessie said angrily.

Hmmmm, I dunno what to make of this

One day later, I'm still baffled. They only beat James until he was unconscious and after to hurt Jessie. I can actually get behind this. I had no idea when rebooting, only that James got done in first cos the mob are still alive (we assume), and so re-imagined exactly that. Some may prefer the original's events over the reboot's and I'd understand completely.

However I'm gonna rain on the parade, it becomes pretty clear that it deviated from the planned story. Reboot fixes it, while Original notices later, doesn't delete/edit and bodges it up as FV normally does. You'll see.

"Well, we don't know how but James really broke his upper leg badly. He's going to have to take it easy for a while, that means you're going to have to look after him for a while," Kathryn replied.

Is this Janeway/past Marill's way of saying; lol you'll probably have to help him go to the toilet, sucks to be you

If so, goddamn

"They must of done something to him after I was knocked unconscious. I didn't see them doing anything that could of broken his leg," Jessie said.

Yeah I'm not sure either, the new version keeps getting in the way

"Doctor, he's waking up," the nurse said. Jessie tried to sit up but the pain in her ribs forced her to lie back down.

:( poor Jessie, quite literally doesn't deserve this. She'll feel guilty as hell and they weren't even meant to be her words that lead to this. ffs

"Well you don't have to worry. You two will be up and about in no time. Unfortunately you'll have to take it easy on that left leg of yours," Doctor Iko said.

"How can I take it easy when I'm in a band?" James asked.

Priorities, who gives a f$$$

"I doubt Virus is going to be same again after this," Kathryn muttered.

WOOHOO SILVER LININGS

"Lena, they've just been through something. They need time to recover," Craig said.

"It's Christmas Eve tomorrow, we need to release that damn single," Lena said.

And see, Lena's right back to being a full time bitch with no consideration for anyone. sociopath

"You could at least tone down the dance moves. Halloween isn't easy to dance to with a bad leg," James said.

Not that I remember, it was mostly hand routines. I guess the jump to the side and back could be lived without

WHY DO I REMEMBER MY MADE UP HALLOWEEN ROUTINE, AND YET I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED WITH TRUE Q

"Ok, we'll spend a couple more days thinking up a new dance routine and by then your damn leg would be better then," Lena said.

EXCUSE ME

WTF

SEE WHAT I MEAN

For the entire episode Lena's been exactly this, one noted, selfish, horrible and unreasonable. Then for the scene which was meant to kick off the events revolving around the beatings, she's suddenly calm and professional, while Jessie decides at random to slag off other bands. After said scene Lena's back to only thinking of the band at the cost of her friends after a crowd left them for dead, which btw she said they deserved.

AM I THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS

"Lena, why are you being so heartless?" James asked.

"Stop it with the sympathy act!" Lena yelled.

wow

"Lena, you're the one that should take it easy. You've been really grouchy lately," Craig said. Lena pushed his hands off.

"I'm just having a bad week, OK!" Lena yelled.

Come on, does it really make sense that Jessie was the aggravator when every other scene pretty much points at Lena and says "she's being a bitch, look at her, how abnormal!" I can't really post anymore proof that Lena was meant to be the one that pissed off Jailbreaker groupies that later attack J/J, but I'm sure there's more and it should be shown.

And yes I see the counter argument: they think James was worst off because they were punishing her for what she said. Why do this if the original plan was Lena being the gobs$$$e? Apart from holding Jessie back, there's no proof of this. They probably struggled with James, and with Jessie in the fray, they had to hold someone back. S2 James is more violent than S2 Jessie, so he attacked more and got hurt more.

Or that was the only part of the story I bothered to change after swapping Jessie and Lena for a scene.

"Ok, I'll try to keep my cool. It's just how are we going to tone down Halloween's dance routine? We'll have to think of something," Lena said.

"Can't we do the Halloween release thing tomorrow, they've just got out of hospital," Craig asked.

When even Craig's sticking up for James, you should probably take a step back and think "wow am I being too harsh?"

"The sooner we get back to normal, the better," Lena replied.

"I agree with her there, but..." James said.

"But what!" Lena yelled.

YES, DO IT! DO IT, GARBAGE TAKETH OUT

"Never mind," James said.

NO

"People know about what happened, they won't be expecting us back so soon," Jessie said.

"Yeah, well, so what?" Lena said.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Forget it," she said.

STOP TEASING ME, GAWD

The announcer was standing on that same stage. "Welcome back to RTV. The newly popular band Virus, have made a quick comeback after last night's incident at the charity event. They're here to perform their new single, yes you heard it. Another new single. Ok, enough talk, hear for yourselves!"

Mwahahaha even the Ligers think they're overdoing the singles now

Lena sang the first verse, she danced slightly as she went around the front of the stage. Craig came over to her and they both did a little act with the phone conversation bit. Near the end of it they went over to the others and they stood in a formation.

Wellllll... at least it's not just lyrics again. Bittersweet's back for now.

As I read on, no lyrics are never quoted at all. The whole song's performance (so far) is described only. The dance routine I came up with isn't described but I'm not surprised. I struggled with my imagined very recent Scared of the Dark routine in the reboot.

Anyway it's not going too bad right, wrong

The girls stepped back to let the guys do their bit. The girls pretended to freeze on the spot as the guys spoke their lines. Craig forget to stay on the spot, and he wandered around as he said his lines. James had to do the same. He nearly lost his balance because of his leg, and he knocked Lena a bit as the chorus restarted.

James's injury is so bad that just walking/pacing a stage is hard for him. Why the f$$$ are they doing this Lena!?!?! gah!

The band did the dance routine for the chorus, but Lena went back to the more energetic one. 

James: *nearly falls over after walking a few steps*

Lena: He's better, full routine now babeh!

Yeah, no. just no

As Lena sang 'Halloween' at the end of the song, Jessie yelled out 'lets hear you scream!" As the song finished with the recorded version of Lena screaming, nearly everyone screamed to join in.

Wow ok, one lyric is quoted haha. Jessie working the crowd is a nice touch, I'll admit.

Lena looked around as if she was waiting for something, and then she pushed James lightly.

"What were you trying to do, spoil it?" she asked angrily.

"What are you talking about?" James said.

"You knocked me before the third chorus!" Lena yelled.

YEAH THAT WAS TOTALLY ON PURPOSE

"Give him a break. I did the wrong act. He had to do the same act and it hurt his leg. It was my fault," Craig said.

"Why did he knock me then?" Lena asked angrily.

1) Again Craig is defending James, he hates him. Surely that's a big smacking clue that you're wrong and overreacting. PLUS Craig isn't defending Lena is a huge hint on its own.

2) Because when people lose their balance, they magnetically aim for the person who's fault it is, no matter where they are. It's science, don't argue

"Well it was either that or me fall over and embarrass the entire band," James said.

Speaking of which, they're still on the stage. Food for thought.

And sheesh, he didn't fall like I remembered. He wobbled and probably nudged Lena, barely.

"It looks like you've done so anyway," Jessie muttered. Lena looked and she saw that the camera's were still on.

OH SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP

Jessie's Sin Points: -5

That could've been reworded, cos at first since this is directly after James and says "you've", I thought she was saying he embarrassed them anyway, not Lena with her tantrum. Yeah, for that

Jessie's Sin Points: +1 for the mistake

"Lena I think you should calm down. It was an accident," Craig said.

"Besides it was an accident waiting to happen," James said.

They kept saying how bad his leg was, and yet he got through the song with only a wobble. That was barely an accident, I'll bet no one even noticed but them.

"You were doing the original dance routine for the chorus, and the first verse," James replied.

SHE DID? I ONLY REMEMBER THE LAST CHORUS, AND CRAIG GOING OFF SCRIPT CAUSING IT

*rewinds*

The chorus came on and they did the arm part of the dance routine. Lena continued to do the full version, where they usually move around a lot, instead of just being on the same spot. The girls stepped backwards as Craig and James sang their bit.

Jessie went back forward and she sang her verse. She stayed in the same spot, and she danced just using her arms. She and James did a little act out for the phone conversation bit. All four went into the formation for the chorus. This time Lena remembered to do the dance routine the same way as the others.

OH, OOPSIE DAISY

lol at me for praising Bittersweet for bothering to describe the performance but at the same time totally miss all the important details but one. That's an utter fail on my part.

"Oh well, I'm sorry. So this is all my fault then?" Lena asked.

"Maybe if you stopped acting like a selfish b**ch this wouldn't of happened," James said.

so epic it was almost word for word copied in the reboot (of=have)

Jessie and Craig looked shocked, so did Lena. "What did you just call me?" Lena asked.

"You heard me. I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've been acting like a heartless, selfish little b**ch for about a week now," James replied.

"I didn't think you'd have the guts to tell me that," Lena muttered.

I'LL BET YOU DIDN'T, AND THAT'S WHY YOU KEPT DOING IT

RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE

"I've been through worse," James said.

He's not wrong, and people may question why it took him so long. Not sure if it's ever said in this version

"Oh really? Well let me tell you something. If you had my life you would understand," Lena said.

"Lena, don't get all emotional on us," Jessie said.

Now see, normally Jessie would get a sin for this. But remember a quote from the previous scene:

"Lena, why are you being so heartless?" James asked.

"Stop it with the sympathy act!" Lena yelled.

100% deserved

"We've all had a bad time in our life, it doesn't mean that you should take it out on us," Jessie said.

I have a feeling I'm gonna have a lot of paragraph length thoughts about this whole thing. Not complaints, not really. Bittersweet does get some s$$$ right, why do you think I was so mad about its issues. For now, lets read

"A bad time? A bad time? That's an understatement," Lena muttered.

"Come on, I think the audience have heard enough," Jessie said and she walked over to James. They both left the stage. Craig looked briefly at Lena before leaving her on her own.

Phew boy. Again if CRAIG doesn't stick up for Lena, and even walks out on her, you know she's crossed many lines. And yet, there's always more to it. She's not acting like this for drama points

"Ooh, yey," Tani muttered sarcastically.

"What's up with your miserable face?" Triah asked.

I'm getting deja vu here, and not the good kind

"Well I have no friends and family to share Christmas with, and I'm afraid to use my computer," Tani said.

"The computer's not going to eat you," Triah muttered.

Yes, computers are very scary. Just yesterday I tried to get into my USB drive, instead the dvd rom opened SUDDENLY, knocking over the label printer. I was like NOOooooo, stop! and tried to stop it and push back, but it kept attacking me and junk. Scary stuff until I realised I had tried to open up the dvdrom instead of the USB. BUT IT WAS POSSESSED I TELL YOU, DID I TELL YOU WHAT IT DID WHEN I TRIED TO COPY A LOT OF BITTERSWEET TEXT INTO THIS FILE? The screen fizzled off for a few seconds, IT KNOWS

ahem anyway

James came onto the Bridge and he went over to Tuvok. "Erm, did anybody go down to the planet during the night?" he asked.

Tuvok worked at his console. "Only a few unknown crewmembers, why do you ask?"

James: oh nothing really, just have a feeling someone is forgetting something.

"Jessie's missing. I thought she might be on the planet," James replied.

Someone's downed a whole bottle of Kalms...

....

wait, will it make me nonchalant over everything *stares at half empty bottle* hmmmm

In: "What could that mean?"

"It could mean she's either dead, or somewhere that blocks out lifesigns," Tuvok replied.

I love how logical Tuvok says the dead idea first.

"Indeed Captain, I'm going to send a search party. Ensign..." Tuvok said and he turned to see that James had gone.

"He went into the turbolift," Triah said.

TRIAH CAN SEE OFF SCREEN, AMAZING

"I'd better stop him, in his condition he can't go on a search mission," Tuvok said. He walked off the Bridge too.

The next day (Christmas Day)

UM

Captains Log Supplemental: Crewman Rex has disappeared without a trace. Tuvok has ruled out the possibility of any radiation that can block out lifesigns. I'm afraid we're at a loss.

Did James get out and search, or did Tuvok stop him(lol). We'll never know

And yes, she's giving up that easily

Lena and Craig walked in. Lena put her fingers up at the door.

"Damn Security Guards, security my a*s," she muttered angrily.

I... I don't get it, did they stop them from getting in and died horribly at her hands, or let them stroll in without any ID, rendering them useless? Somebody help me out here

Duncan walked over to the two.

"A*s," he said. Craig looked at Lena.

AAAAW, Duncan makes everything better

"I bet he's heard worse," Lena muttered. She knelt down in front of Duncan. "Where's your dad?" she asked.

"He's in there," Duncan said and he pointed towards one of the bedroom doors. "He told me to leave him alone," he said.

OH DAMN SON

James does not handle Jessie missing or deadness well, I know. Poor Duncan.

"Did he tell you why he's upset?" Craig asked. Duncan shook his head.

OH he doesn't know his mum's missing. Okay. Still not very nice though

"Where's that fat old f**t called Santa?" Duncan asked.

"Well erm, he isn't really real. It's usually your parents that give you presents," Lena said.

bwahahaha

"Where's mum?" Duncan asked.

"I wish I knew," Lena whispered. Craig nodded his head.

"What?" Duncan said loudly.

great job Lena *thumbs up*

The three heard the bedroom door open. They looked over. James slowly stepped out of the room, and he headed straight for the main door. The Security guards stopped him, so he had to go back in.

Just who are these Security Guards? How many of them are there? Do they have a device on him that triggers his leg pain or something? I get it they may be able to stop him, fine, but he doesn't even try.

"Oh come on, people don't just disappear like that," James replied.

"Where's mum, I want presents!" Duncan yelled, and he started crying.

Yeah yeah, not a year old yet, his mum's not around and no one's telling him why. poor thing is confused and upset, let it pass

"Well when did you see her last?" Craig asked.

"Last night, before I fell asleep. I woke up and she was gone," James replied.

Are you seeing the problem here yet? Yes/No

"Yeah, but Tuvok didn't detect any lifesigns. If they do find her she won't be alive," James said.

"What?" Duncan asked angrily.

Do these people think Duncan can't hear them cos he's short or too young to understand words? James avoided telling him anything at all, then blurts this out. they all ignore his what's and it hurts, sigh

"Look if you think like that then you're never going to feel ok again," Lena said.

"I've tried thinking that she's ok, it hasn't worked," James said.

What's this, Lena starting to be better???

"If she is dead, how the hell did it happen!" James said angrily.

"Well I have a theory," Lena said.

This oughta be good

"I think she just went for a breath of fresh air on the planet, and those damn Jailbreaker fans got her. Anyway if that is the case Doctor Jones will be able to revive her no probs," Lena said.

I TOLD YOU

"Yeah, and I'm er, sorry for being so horrible lately," Lena replied.

"What has been up with you anyway?" James asked.

Oh come on, we all know the answer

"I don't know. I've just had a shorter fuse than usual. Anyway I'm sorry again, and I feel bad since there's a chance that I won't be able to apologise to Jess," Lena replied.

"I hope you're wrong about that, especially for Duncan's sake," James said.

Oh we've remembered him have we?

"Anyway, I know it sounds awful but I have an idea for our next single. I remember listening to a song called Stop Me From Loving U. It's a fast ballad, and it really is nice. We could have a dedication song," Craig said.

Well there it is, there's two of these inappropriate songs. omgspoilers

Jessie's missing, pressumed dead, Craig knows it's awful but suggests releasing another single to cash in on the publicity. How sweet

"Yeah, but what happens if Jessie is found and revived?" Lena asked.

THEN WE KILL HER FOR REAL, BWAHAHAHAHA

"Well, er, it still makes a nice song. And besides Jessie will know about it that way," Craig replied.

OH WELL, HOW CAN WE SAY NO

YOU COULD JUST NOT RELEASE A SINGLE EVERY DAY, JUST SAYING

In: "Somebody reported seeing Crewman Rex. We've found her, and beamed her to Sickbay."

"All right, I'm on my way," James said.

OH DARN CRAIG, YOUR ONLY GOOD IDEA AND IT'S GONE, TOO BAD

Lena, Craig, & James came in through the main door. James was carrying Duncan, by the way.

BY THE WAY

HOW DARE YOU INSINUATE DUNCAN WASN'T IN THIS SCENE COS HE DIDN'T WALK/COME THROUGH THE DOOR/INTO THE ROOM. SEE HE'S THERE, YOU LIAR

"The bad news is that she has severe injuries, and they're going to take some treating," Doctor Jones said.

"Good news please," James said.

Craig: Oh Steps have another b-side we can steal. Coincidentally it has the same name as the episode, neat huh

Lena: Pass, there's gotta be an album track from them that everybody hates that can be misunderstood by an idiot

Craig: *flicks through a few booklets* Got it, Experienced will be our twentieth single this week, so excited

Lena: I said can be misunderstood by an idiot

Craig: Oh *flicks again* Too Weak To Resist?

Lena: *stares at James* suits him, perfect

James: *updates kill count in advance*

"Well, there's a chance that I can revive her," Doctor Jones said.

"There's only a chance," James said.

"Bad Doctor!" Duncan yelled, he reached over and tried to hit him. Doctor Jones just shook his head slightly.

he can't feel pain, it's FINE and hilariously cute, don't care, you can't ruin it for me

"Duncan, Jones can't treat your mother if you keep hitting him," Craig said. Duncan finally stopped, and he gave Doctor Jones one hell of a glare.

OH I JUST NOTICED THEY NO LONGER CALL HIM RYAN, I'M SO SLOW

"Yeah, we've got some work to do as well. Don't we?" Lena said questioningly.

"We do?" James asked.

"Yeah, we've got a dedication CD to advertise," Lena replied.

James: A dedication Craig Death? I'm game

Craig: Yea.... what?

"Can I sing?" Duncan asked.

Daaaaaaw

"Geez, where did that kid get that glare from," Craig muttered. James handed Duncan to Doctor Jones.

"Doesn't matter, lets go," Lena said.

I hope that question was rhetorical

The announcer woman was standing in front of a big crowd of people. "We have a change of schedule today, a band has just came into the studios to perform a song from their upcoming single. I doubt there will be a dry eye in the whole studio after this song, give it up for Virus!"

Ok, now I am confused. Will this be Stop Me From Hitting That High Note or Too Weak To Resist Fighting a Mob of People (but not really cos we shook that attack off and now the random attack later where I wasn't around to help is the attack that matters)?

James sang all the lead vocals, and the other two sang the backing vocals. As the second verse started a lot of the crowd had at least one tear in their eyes. They weren't the only ones, the band themselves had the same problem.

So "Stop Me From Hitting That REALLY High Note" then. That song is not for male singers, ouch

He passed Tani, and she snatched the whole box.

"This is a horrible Christmas!" she suddenly yelled, and she ran out of the room.

Somebody threw a used hanky at him. "Eew, I hope you didn't use that to blow your nose," Tom said angrily.

Harry grinned meekly at him. "No, I didn't," he said.

HAHA KARMA BITCH

Tani walked in with an angry look on her face. Ash Ketchum followed soon after.

"I thought we settled this in our last Pokemon battle," he said.

"Is that your answer to every problem?" Tani snarled.

Ash Ketchum drooled, "baayttle!"

Okay only some of that is accurate.

"I thought you didn't like her," Ash Ketchum muttered.

"I just didn't like her because she had it a lot better than I did," Tani said.

A weird way to say she's jealous of her, and WE KNOW

"I'm saying that she got lucky, she got herself a decent friend who didn't treat her like dirt!" Tani snapped. Doctor Jones came over to her.

Yeah um, I'm not comfortable with Tani comparing her relationship with ex friend Ash Ketchum to James and Jessie, the now established couple. I think you know why.

And I'm really not comfortable with her saying everything that's wrong is Ash's fault. That does not help. This also is irrelevant to the plot, almost like it was written after something happened in real life to inspire it................

NAH

"I don't get it, I thought we understood why we both did certain things," Ash Ketchum said.

"If it was us in the same situation as Jessie and James, you'd be having a party unlike.." Tani said.

do not want

"Well you sure wouldn't be pouring your heart out for everyone to see, that's for sure," Tani said.

"No offense, but we're a lot different than those two. For one thing, we aren't a couple!" Ash Ketchum yelled.

um, really, we're doing this? Tani's problem is that the guy she used to be friends with isn't crying and singing over her not nearly dying cos nothing happened to her...

yes YOU MAKE THIS ALL ABOUT YOU TANI

Unfortunately the real reason is pretty obvious, to me, and I really don't like it. Much discussion at the end.

"Tani, it's a little late for this now. We're not friends anymore. I'm sorry that we didn't have what you'd call a perfect friendship, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Ash Ketchum said.

I deleted something important from this Re-Read, expecting to bring it up at a more appropriate time. I think this is the time.

Bittersweet had THREE writing dates, which was huge back in the day on its own, but a month's gap between the second and third, with other skipped episodes releasing in between those dates. It's clear we're in the third date (January) territory now, while a certain other plot development probably was the second date in December. Something to keep in mind. I know it may mean nothing, or very little at the least, but the reason for Bittersweet's problems are starting to make more and more sense to me.

It really is a god damn shame. If it'd been written and finished on that first attempt, it'd probably would never needed a reboot. Just a nice little picky clean up like the prequels. But no. never mind, continuing on past the Tani being my venting vessel scene.

"I'm going to try and revive Jessie, I need some assistance," Doctor Jones replied.

"I can't help," Tani said.

"Well if you at least try, it might make you feel better about this," Doctor Jones said.

For some reason they were in Sickbay during their argument, so Tani is in the right place for this development. Gotta love it.

The rest of the band were back stage, talking about nothing in particular.

Lena: Wow Jailbreaker really are s$$$ aren't they, I'm the greatest.

James: I've sang some stupid song either about cheating or a break up, who can tell anymore. I've done all I can.

Craig: How did I end up the only rational one here?

In: "Good news, Jessie is alive and well all thanks to me."

Three band members started laughing and hugging each other.

yeah good news but not buying the reaction, laziness at its peak

In: "Oh yeah, and Tani helped."

The band stopped their celebrations so suddenly.

"Tani?" Lena said questioningly.

EEW I NO RITE

"What happened to me and Ash Ketchum started to make me rethink about a few things. I finally worked out why I hated Jessie so much," Tani replied.

Because she kept trying to steal Ash's Pikachu?

"I was just jealous of what she had. I wasn't really hating her, I was hating myself. She had this great guy as a best friend since she was a kid. What did I have?" Tani said questioningly

This is some huge revelation? this?

It'd be like me announcing that I figured out why I drink Cherry Coke, answer being IT TASTES NICE

Everyone: OMG

"Ashley wasn't that bad at all," Lena muttered.

"I know that. You know what we were both like. One day we'd be joking around, the next we'd be arguing about some stupid thing. I've watched James and Jessie for ages, and whenever they had a fight they instantly made up, and forgot about it. All the things they fought about were big and serious," Tani said.

"Yeah, but with some incidents I didn't forgive him even though I acted like I did. Anyway I really helped Jessie because I wanted to make it up to her," Tani said.

Well at least I picked someone as equally as bitter as me to be my kinda avatar in this. There a positive, are you happy now!?!

"I was wondering though, how did we end up fighting?" Tani asked.

"Like you and Ashley, over something small and silly," Lena replied.

"Oh yeah, I don't think I apologised for overreacting in 'Games Resistance'," Tani said.

James is small and silly? He's silly at least. Small's a bit rude.

"I've been acting like a complete b**ch for a few months, I can't forget it," Tani said.

"I said, forget about it. I know what'll make you feel better," Lena said.

Yep here it comes. Time to ruin another already planned out part of the plot

"This isn't like any of our other videos," Jessie said.

"Yeah well, Tani helped us today. We have to help her," Lena said.

"But how's this depressing video going to help?" Craig asked.

Wait, a video? My memory betrays me again

"We'd better get used to the song first," Lena said, she pressed a few buttons on the console nearby. The song 'Bittersweet' came on.

Only quoting cos it's a title call out

Ah Bittersweet the song, some trivia for you:

1) The b-side to the last Steps single before their split. When it happened I thought the song was written because that was coming. Considering who co-wrote it I really doubt it, she apparently had no clue.

2) So many of the lyrics clicked with me instantly, it felt like at the time my song. It's hard to explain. That's why this episode exists at all, it gave me the idea. However...

3) Events behind the scenes developed in between Bittersweet's writing dates, and yes I'll have to go into that later it seems, which changed the meaning of the song for me. It went from a song that I loved and identified with, to a song that reminded me that I was wrong to identify with it, but still loved. It was a bittersweet song for me for many years. It's still one of my favourites today, and it is a song I feel applies to me all the time. Maybe except the "I'm stronger now and I won't run and hide." I'm still waiting for that part.

Sigh, I'll get into why this change happened, what it was before and why it bothered me at the end. Lets see it first:

The song didn't start straight away. Lena went forward in front of the others, Tani followed her. Lena now has light orange hair.

"This song is dedicated to our friend here. She's been through a rough time, so we decided to let her join us for this performance," Lena said.

deep breaths Marill

"We'd also like to thank all the people who've supported us during our stay here," Jessie said. The audience cheered loudly.

Jessie says this, Jessie. The girl beaten, twice on said planet. She's gotta be sarcastic here, RIGHT!?

Jessie sang the first half of the first verse, and Tani sang the second half surprisingly well. The band all stood together as they sang the chorus.

Lena sang the second verse, and she was joined by Tani. This time the band and Tani sang the chorus together. They then stood in formation, with Tani in the middle. Jessie and James were at her sides. Lena was next to James, and Craig was next to Jessie.

James and Jessie stepped forward to sing the last verse. They had their arms around each other as they sang. James kissed Jessie on the cheek just before the chorus restarted. They stepped back to join the others.

The chorus was sang twice, the second time round the band had split up and they were wandering around the stage. Near the end they regrouped and they stood with their backs to the crowd in a mini circle. They turned their heads to the side just as the song finished.

I was complimenting the episode for describing s$$$ instead of copying lyrics and mentioning hair colours. Now I'm annoyed that the titular song of the episode doesn't have any lyrics written here. It's appropriate so why not?? But anywhooo that's the end, lets critic before we end the read:

Tani really doesn't need to hog that much of the song ffs, I thought she only sang the bridge before the end.

Someone stood there, another stood in between here and another there, then they went.........ffs

James and Jessie's part is nice, and I had forgotten it. Again that should've been where the f$$$$ lyrics were

And THE END, with no "next time on FV" questions. Good, I have a lot to talk about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Counter Results:

Muttered Count: 63 (1333)

Sexist Crap Count: 6 (68)

Jessie's Sin Points: earned 1, lost 15 (0) Remember, she has 36 from Season One to still erase.

Lena the Sue Count: 5 (36) She earns this for the blatant "she can't be at fault for J/J's beating(s), but she can be a cow the rest of the time"

Lena (Child)Abuses Her Power: 3 (35)

Annika Dies Count: 0 (10)

James Dies Count: 0 (5)

James Kill Count: 0 (4)

James Badasses Off Screen For Our Sins: 0 (17) I'm as disappointed as you are. It's possible he did some badassing in that fade out, but we don't hear about how the attackers are afterwards (injured, dead, ok etc...), so if there's nothing said, nothing happened.

Marill's Playing With Her Dolls Again: 0 (51)

Just A Little Bit More: 0 (37)

J/C are the worst (grand)parents ever: 0 (27)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Score:

Negatives:

1) I'll start with the obvious (2 pointer): throughout 90% of the episode Lena's acting out a lot, several characters call her out for this. Lena's band is the forefront of the episode, her attitude drives most of the problems, and she's the one who in the end goes through the character arc and development. Meanwhile Jessie is primarily just there, being a bit pessimistic about the band's chances of success. James is also just there as scenery, nothing more. Then the charity scene happens, she's told to stop fighting with her daughter and she's like "ok that makes sense." She's the one uncharacteristically being neutral over the other bands, heck may even be complimenting them. She only snaps when Jessie starts hypocritically slagging off the rivals, with James chiming in like a sheep. Jessie and James are attacked for this, and more on that in a later negative point, then Lena returns to her grouchy self.

Bittersweet is Lena's episode. Ever since True Q she's struggled with who she is and treats everyone badly, to the point that even Craig's starting to lose sympathy. CRAIG FFS. It would make sense that with her opinion that her band is the best thing since cherry coke, that she'd be the one who slagged off other bands. She was meant to. I'm really sure of it. Yes J/J were meant to get the beating for it, and that was meant to be the start of Lena's wake up call. Words have consequences. Most of the series Lena gets away with everything, and everytime she's one upped by another character, said character tends to do something to take the heat off. James beats Annika when Lena/Morgan gets whipped twice, cue James later on being weakened. Lena is cruel to Kiara, so Kiara must be cruel to Naomi and be bitter the rest of the episode AND YES AGAIN, more on Kiara in yet another negative.

To sum up, all of Bittersweet's issues can be traced to its writing dates spread out over a month. In this double point's case, I really think this happened not just because Lena couldn't possibly do something wrong, but because before the second writing date James and Jessie's "actors" band split up on Boxing Day, and so I needed to vent on them. The Slayers clued me in on this, it wasn't subtle at all. This was though, hence why it took me so long. Which brings me to the next point.

2) James and Jessie get attacked so badly they're injured for a while, and yet it doesn't amount to anything. Jessie has to foolishly go out in the middle of night for "fresh air" and get attacked again, because clearly I forgot that she was supposed to go missing during the first time, be dead or in a sorta coma, scar Duncan for a while, and then get well enough for the big Bittersweet comeback. I clearly botched the first attack, realised but didn't change it. And yes I'm gonna separate these points cos this plot development deserves it...

3) This episode was planned out, I know this, so how the hell did I not think of a way for J/J to get lost and be unable to contact Voyager before that s$$$ show of a "damn pickpocket" and crazy dead ends. Again Jessie goes to a planet she was already attacked on, who mostly hate her, for a walk alone during the night. FFS

4) Tani's involvement is annoying but I'm not sure if it's big enough for two points.... we'll see after I'm finished rambling. Tani had no involvement in the original plans. Lena starts the epiode bickering and abusing Kiara, they compete against each other, Kiara mopes that she's not good enough, then Kiara pretty much vanishes into thin air. Tani starts appearing instead with her woe is me I have no friends crap, and suddenly the episode's revolving around her for the final. Like 1, this happened because it was finished in January, a month later. Between the second date and then Why oh Why caused a massive stir, gee I wonder why, and well I couldn't let things lie, could I? Tani had to whinge so people would feel sorry for me. Groan. Tani took over cos Bittersweet the song meant a great deal to me and Tani was my crappy avatar in this controversy. That is it. That is all. If anyone should've been dueting with Virus at the end as a sort of forgiveness arc, it should have been Kiara. Yeah decided (2).

5) Virus release too many singles. I'm glad I changed the reboot so the abundance of songs made sense.

6) Too Weak To Resist may be gone, but its scars still remain in that "so sad" dedication single performance. James wouldn't decide to sing a sad song while Jessie lay badly injured in sickbay as a tribute to her, not in Season Two, not even in Season One. Apart from this episode, show me proof that he would. I'd be surprised if you find one example, let alone enough to override his OTT responses every other time in the series. I'll wait.

7) I still can't get over the "good news Kiara has released a song that she's already performed, bad news is J/J have had the s$$$ beaten out of them," scene. Not only is that exchange bad enough but victim blaming. AND they weren't even meant to be the ones who said all that "bad" stuff, they were just beaten because they were in the same group. ffs

8) The shift from this is an alien planet the Ligers like to partay at, to an actual Liger planet is jarring as f$$$. So much so no one mentions that because of this, Ligers were responsible for J/J's two attacks. I think that shift was forgotten somewhere near the end, since Kiara remarks that these people love their music to obsession. The Ligers didn't like it that much. Also they like rock music LMAO

9) Kiara doesn't even deserve any of the back talk she gets from Lena, so ABSOLUTELY NOT to the menu smacking, threats of violence. The story admits it's s$$$y by comparing it to James' abuse from his dad. Just no no

10) Despite the majority of the songs being written better, one performance still spams lyrics when it's not needed, while the titular song gets cinch when it would have been appropriate. Also poor Bittersweet being a ballad means the performance description is who stood where most of the time, zzz.

11) Virus release three singles, two of which have two songs between them, which makes the not really tense chart countdown all the more boring. Its attempts to make the scene tense do not land well. Ohno the TV is broken 0_0

12) Something I wanted to keep about Bittersweet was J/J still being injured for a while after the attack. Or rather James still being injured after his attack, since Jessie was meant to be missing after the first attack *cough*. However the mess of the original version made it quite difficult. The change from aliens to the Ligers made it so the Ligers medical expertise has taken a hit so James' leg still hurts. Jessie's ribs still hurt, same bull reason, and I know now how bad a rib break can hurt. She wouldn't be going for a walk later, doing much if any arm movements during Halloween... I think you get the picture. While I'm on the subject of the injuries that for some reason the Doc can't fix when they return to the ship, I'm fine with the severity of them IF there's any kind of hint as to how it happened. We'll never know how James broke his leg AFTER he was knocked unconscious, remember Jessie said she saw nothing and he was KO'd before they started on her, so we're only left to theorise. Jessie's second attack isn't at all mentioned, she was attacked and now unconscious, and also they couldn't detect her so was she dead or not? WHO KNOWS?

I mean sure this meant that I had come up with new ideas to work with in the reboot which I think helped it. The lack of signal around the arena helped with two original issues, James now has a reason for his leg breakage which did technically happen while he was or was made unconscious heh, and the attack didn't really need to be fully written for it to still be mysterious, allowing the Jessie disappearance to still work and not be hand waved later as "she went for a walk".

The only one truly not delved into is Jessie's concussion, cos it wasn't filmed and she wouldn't be keen about reliving it judging by her actions later. And yeh while that can be considered a flaw, while writing it I didn't think it was realistic of her to tell all about what happened.

Wow I yapped on a fair bit more than I expected.

13) I had a serious problem with James worrying about being in the band after the attack. His only concern after his broken leg is ohnoes how can I dance? It didn't seem in character one bit, he never really seemed fussed about the band. Just something fun for him to do. It's kinda like how Jessie suddenly cares so much to slag off the competition but I'll not get into that again! It's not only that, he seems pretty timid or nothing with Lena the majority of the time. I commended Jessie for standing up to her, which btw was awesome seeing her in character again after soo soooo long, so it's only fair I criticise James's passiveness during the entirety of the episode. Except for calling her a bitch of course. I guess my point in this one is James is not himself and in an episode like this it's a shame.

Sub-total: 15

Positives:

1) I quite like the opening scene. I only really edited it because I thought the idea of Voyager crashing another alien's party because they're drunk and it's Xmas was funnier than pretty tree looking nebula filled with Tolg. Sue me

2) Bittersweet changes the band formula for this one episode. Performances are described (sometimes too much), lyrics aren't spammed to death (something I'm still guilty of now), and like in Halloween and Bittersweet's, they're telling a part of the story. I do find fault in this way, but I gotta commend the attempt.

3) James' on stage persona, at least for the earlier tracks, was pretty eye opening for me. Confident and a little flirty, it's a huge contrast to how he acts off the stage I've noticed. After some thinking about it I do think it works, and isn't OOC. I imagine this is true for a lot of performers.

4) Kiara's development in this story, before she disappears, is pretty good. For the rest of the series she tries to do something, anything that proves she's as good or better than her family which consists of a super human mum, grandparents in charge, etc... Being half Q doesn't help her, it makes her feel worse. She's special but doesn't feel it, so feels even more  insecure about it. Up until the end it's a struggle for her that she's not like them. Bittersweet seems to have started this arc for her so nice one.

5) Despite the mess and rant over who started it, the fight between Lena and Jessie at the charity ball was pretty sweet. It's only fitting that was when her sins were all but zeroed.

6) I know I said Reboot Bittersweet is the definite version, and I still stand by it, but the original's interpretation of what happened during the fade out attack is pretty dark and I think better than a mindless angry mob chasing them down the street. Although I do think the latter makes sense considering the circumstances, at least more than an organised make Jessie suffer mugging and attack. It just feels more effective. It wouldn't have worked in the rebooted version anyway since Lena says the things, and the stunt could've been any of them. James' interference in the suicide fakeout could have angered them further as well, but that's another story/matter.

7) I whined a lot, but Lena being band, band, band obsessed and extremely harsh is the point of the story. It's never actually stated, something that I think works as mere interpretation in the original (and is still fine explained in the 'boot), but Lena has nothing that is really hers because her memories are fake and/or Kiara's. The band is it, and anything that threatens it no matter what is an attack on her. It makes sense to me at least. Not that I'm defending her on anything, her behaviour is abhorrent BUT IT'S MEANT TO BE. And after Jessie was used to piss off Jailbreaker fans, I was worried it'd been forgotten. (2).

8) Until TaniMarill shows up, Bittersweet keeps to the plot and doesn't stray at all. No random other scenes, no writers, nothing. Replace Tani for Kiara and it'd be perfect. Still a positive considering what's gone on before.

Sub-total: 9

Marill's Rating: 37%

It's a tie with fellow good but also lost the plot near the end Interactions. I'll take it.

Rankings So Far:

#01 Resistance: 53%
#02 YWF: 46%
#03 Disconnected: 40%
#04 Kiss of Death: 38%
#05 Interactions & Bittersweet: 37%
#06 The Resurrection: 36%
#07 True Q: 35%
#08 Cause & Effect: 33%
#09 The Curse of Voyager: 32%
#10 Saturday Night & Precise Timings: 31%
#11 Games Resistance: 29%
#12 Thrown Key Part 2: 23%
#13 F9: Control Failure: 21%
#14 Why oh Why: 20%
#15 An Apple A Day: 17%
#16 Halloween: 15%
#17 Dimension Jump: 14%
#18 The Slayers: 12%
#19 The Love Spell: 10%

Next Time: Annika returns for Saturday Night 2: Seven Strikes Back. I'm looking forward to this one and yet have no expectations to disappoint, other than a Seven Dies scene.