Friday, January 30, 2015

Recap of 2014 & Our 2015 Wishlist


2014 was a good year in fandom. Character development, announcements, and new content made this year a blast. However, it was also a hard year. Character deaths, painful moments, and cancellations made this year difficult. Between the highs and the lows, 2014 was jam-packed with things that affected our fangirl hearts. Today I've gathered together the Fangirl Initiative team to highlight the good and the bad. We also have high hopes for 2015, so we're presenting our wishlists for our fandoms in the coming year. 2015, here we come!

Note: Spoilers, such as major character injuries or deaths, are blanked out. Highlight them to read, like this: Hello!

Amanda Horn

Favorite Moments of 2014: 
  • One of my favorite moments in any of my fandoms this past year was on the show NCIS: Los Angeles when Deeks and Kensi FINALLY decided to be together. After way too much, “We can’t be together because of reasons,” they just decided, “So it’s crazy? Let’s be crazy!” Also it happened on Christmas, which just makes it a million times better.
  • But I also seriously loved that Natasha and Steve in the Marvel Universe are basically best friends now. It is the best ever.
Hardest moments of 2014:

The hardest moment? Seeing Fili, Kili and Thorin die in The Hobbit. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t want it to happen. I’m still in mourning. Way, way too many feels.

Wishlist for 2015: 

What do I want to see in 2015? I don’t have a huge list for this (I try to take stuff as it comes in my fandoms.). But I’m really excited to see some more Clint and Natasha adorableness in Avengers: Age of Ultron. They are the best.

Andrea Wiesner

Just to be clear, I haven't gotten through all of my shows from 2013-present. But I'll try my best to use what I have seen, for this post!

Best moments of 2014:
Hmm, probably that there were so many awesome new shows! Girl Meets World, Gotham, The Flash, Scorpion, and The Librarians... just to name a few! ;) Of course, the awesomeness doesn't end with those, nor does it cover all the good from returning stuff! But I think, between that and being introduced to older stuff (new to me, like Sherlock) or getting back into old favorites has been fun.

In terms of music, the band Breath of Soul having a new album finally, makes me extremely happy. (but I'm kinda biased, lol)

Worst moments of 2014:
Anytime there was a missing person (here's looking at you, Castle!), or death (Under the Dome, for example) on one of my shows. Or when I learned one or more were cancelled (The Tomorrow People, especially)

Wishlist for 2015:
More excitement and rollercoaster emotions (mostly excitement) for me. Some happiness for the characters that are hurting, and an upshake (evil of me, I know) for the comfortable ones... it's what makes us see them tick. (which is the most fun, for us writers) :P And... getting caught up on all of my stuff, while delving into wonderful new ones.

Bailey Bastien

Favorite moments of 2014: 
Okay. It didn’t actually happen in 2014 since the movies were released several years ago, but I introduced my family to Harry Potter in the fall and it’s been pretty cool watching them enjoy and get really into both the books and movies.
(Other favorites that actually happened last year: Divergent, Mockingjay Part 1, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.)

Hardest moments of 2014: 
Ooh, so many hard moments. I’d have to say that the scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where Bucky’s wiped after recognizing Cap on the bridge and Fili/Kili/Thorin dying in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies are tied as the absolute hardest. Also Dean becoming a demon. That was completely awful and hurt my feels.

Wishlist for 2015: 
I’m really looking forward to seeing how Uriah is portrayed in Insurgent. That’s probably my biggest wish: that they don’t completely butcher his humor and how he interacts with Tris.

Izzy Stevenson

Favorite Moments of 2014:
  • Oswald. 
  • Just Oswald in general. 
  • Oswald rising in power. 
  • Oswald and Jim. 
  • Oswald and his mom. 
  • And the time Oswald stole the show in THAT scene. You know which scene I'm talking about.



Hardest Moments of 2014:
  • Honestly, 2014 was pretty great. The only thing bad I can think of was thinking about Eddie eventually going bad. Just thinking about it.

(Source: Geoff Berkshire/zap2it)

Wishlist For 2014:
Of course, my wish list is made up entirely of Gotham wishes -

  • Season Two being announced as Eddie’s season (please happen, please happen, please)
  • A scene with Eddie and Oswald
  • More interesting scenes with Oswald and his mother
  • Bruce meeting his other future nemeses

Jaime Heller

Favorite moments of 2014:
  • When the Flash and the Arrow worked together to defeat the villain plotting to bomb Starling City. 
  • When Sam Wilson joined Steve Rogers’ ragtag team of rebellion against Hydra. 
  • When Hiccup rode dragons with his mother. 
  • When Finnick Odair was reunited with Annie Cresta
  • When the eagles arrived at the battle of five armies (with Radagast along for the ride)
  • When Legolas did anything in The Hobbit. 
  • When Chris Pine did a William Shatner impersonation while singing “Agony” in Into the Woods.
  • When Sherlock returned and John punched him in the face three times. 
  • When Psych ended with laughter, a proposal, and a reference to Monk. 
Hardest moments of 2014:
  • When Steve knocked off Bucky’s muzzle and Bucky said: “Who the hell is Bucky?” 
  • (also when Bucky whispered: “But he knew me.”)
  • When Bilbo sat next to Thorin and said: “The eagles are coming.” 
  • When the line of Durin ended and the other dwarves were left standing over the destruction. 
  • When I finished The River of Time series and dealt with the Black Plague.
  • When Rocket the raccoon got drunk and spilled out his true feelings about being a genetically 
  • engineered, cyborg creature. 
  • When Oliver Queen got stabbed with a sword and thrown off a cliff. 

Wishlist for 2015:
  • I hope Agent Carter does justice for the character and time period. 
  • I would like Cinderella to have an interesting twist to the story. 
  • I don’t want Oliver Queen to be permanently dead, but I also don’t want him to come back to life in a cheesy way or without a valid explanation
  • I hope Avengers Age of Ultron addresses what the characters have been doing during everything else and also reveals something about the remains of SHIELD and Coulson. 
  • I want another crossover with The Flash and Arrow
  • I desperately want Winter by Marissa Meyer to live up to the glorious fairy tale re-telling the rest of the Lunar Chronicles does. Please, please, don’t mess this one up. 
  • I would like Star Wars: The Force Awakens to be more like the original trilogy than the new-ish trilogy. 
  • I hope Mockingjay Part 2 is less painful than the book (but I highly doubt it will be)
  • I hope Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials movie isn’t boring like the book. 
  • I would like Jurassic World to be both exciting and terrifying and overall make me love dinosaurs again  like the other Jurassic Park movies.

Jenna Blake Morris

Favorite moment of 2014: 
Maybe this is cheating, but I'm going to have to go with an entire episode-- Supernatural's "Fan Fiction." It
had all the things that make the show great, all rolled into one nostalgic, celebratory package: humor, meta insanity, an interesting monster to gank, and some good old-fashioned broments. Plus, the return of the Samulet. Kind of. It was everything I'd been hoping for from the 200th, but somehow better.

Hardest moment of 2014: 
Four words to strike flinching pain into any Supernatural fan: "I'm proud of us." I'm going to have to go with that little scene, plus all the sulfuric aftermath that followed. But an Honorable Mention ribbon goes to the episode where the Ghostfacers pulled a Journey and went their separate ways, because that was just messed up.

Wishlist for 2015: 
Tragically, my favorite book series (Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle) is coming to a close this year. The author has promised some pain, both directly and indirectly, so I'm not sure how well things will end for the characters. But all I really want is for Adam Parrish to get a decently happy ending--after all he's gone through, he deserves it.

Mirriam Neal

2014 was a big year in television. A BIG YEAR. AN EXCITING YEAR. A lot of things happened, and there are a lot of things I hope to happen in 2015. Let’s take a look.

The most memorable TV events of 2014 were (in no particular order)…
  • Revolution got cancelled. Okay. I just decided to start with the bad news. It had good ratings, an epic plot, amazing characters, and BAM. Cancelled. Why. Ugh. But, on to the amazingness.
  • We got two of the best villains ever in the forms of Dark Stiles (Teen Wolf) and Peter Pan (Once Upon a Time). Out of the two, I might have to pick Peter Pan, but the Nogitsune is an extremely close runner-up. They channel their badness with ease and make it look good. Even sympathetic at times.
  • I stopped shipping Damon and Elena. Seriously, someone, get Elena off the show. Damon deserves someone better. At least put Elena with Kai and give us something interesting. Forever came out, and is still holding steady (in spite of the Hannibal-ripoff mid-season finale there. Cough. Yeah, we noticed).
  • AGENT CARTER HAPPENED, PEOPLE. And better than happened – they’re taking it straight to series! Wooohooo! 
  • I stopped /NOT/ shipping Klaus and Cami and started shipping them for real. Because  let’s face it, unless there’s a supermassive crossover, Klaroline can’t continue. 
Now, to the Powers that Be, here is my wishlist for 2015.
  1. Bellarke. Make it happen. Make. It. Happen.
  2. Bring Peter Pan back to Once Upon a Time. Please.
  3. Maybe even bring DarkStiles back. Yeah.
  4. Lots of hugging on Supernatural. And maybe rescue Adam, that would be cool.
  5. Have Ward return to S.H.I.E.L.D. SKYEWARD FOREVER.
  6. Also, FitzSimmons. Somebody say SOMETHING about ANYTHING.
  7. Bellarke. Did I mention Bellarke?
  8. COULD WE GET A SILM ARILLION TV SERIES? I WILL WORK FOR IT. I WILL. I PROMISE. JUST CAST MAEDHROS WELL. 
  9. Also, bring Peter Pan back. 
  10. There’s talk of reviving Pushing Daisies with a movie or a musical or something. I say yes. Go for it. DO IT. DO THE THING.
  11. Peter Pan. Bring him back.

Paige Kelly

Favorite moments of 2014: 
  • The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies coming out! Even though it was an emotional film... still a great ending. 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy being released in theatres. 
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier and all the character development that happened. 
Hardest moments of 2014: 
  • Kili, Fili, and Thorin dying in The Battle of the Five Armies and Bilbo, the dwarves, and Tauriel's grief... so sad! 
  • The Hobbit films being over and having to say one last goodbye to Middle-earth (thank goodness we can always return). 
  • Groot "dying" in Guardians, although that had more of a happy ending. 

Wishlist for 2015: 
  • More Tolkien stuff? Nah, I guess I don't want Peter Jackson deviating from Tolkien's plans tooooo much, but I would never mind another trip back to Middle-earth. 
  • News of a live action, actually-true-to-the-book Howl's Moving Castle film being made, although that's more of a dream than it'll ever be reality (one can still dream, though). 
  • And news of a Queen's Thief movie series being made, although that dream is also far away.

Rica Wiersema

Favorite moments of 2014:
  • Going to the midnight premiere of "The Ninja Turtles."
Hardest moments of 2014: 
  • Going to the midnight premiere of "The Ninja Turtles."
Wishlist for 2015: 
  • Sheldon Cooper ought to make some sort of further commitment to Amy Farrah Fowler.
  • I'd like to see Walden Media figure out what they're doing with the rest of "Narnia."
  • "Firefly" needs to come back.

Sarah Munson

Happiest Moments of 2014:
  • FINALLY getting the third season of Sherlock! And solving the mystery left by the second season.
  • After a wait almost as long as the Sherlock hiatus, the final book in my favorite series, The River of Time by Lisa Bergren, released. Oh. My. Word. If you haven’t read this series yet, do it. Please, do it. And then tell me about it, so I can relieve the mixture of triumph and anguish.
  • The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was more amazing than I dared to hope.
  • The final Hobbit movie was also amazing. I’m not sure it should go under “happiest moments,” considering how much I cried, but it was bittersweet and brilliant, and almost all I could have wished for as the last goodbye. And that song- Billy Boyd singing, “The Last Goodbye!” I don’t think any other song mesmerized me in 2014 like that one.
  • I know there’s been mixed feelings about Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, but I was thrilled from the start. Especially since I heard somewhere that Dr. Strange has encountered Loki in the comics. Fingers crossed…
Hardest Moments of 2014:
  • The Battle of the Five Armies. Yes, the Hobbit movie made me ecstatic, but it also left me crying and rocking myself quietly. It was partly because of the tragic scenes, and partly because this was my final farewell to Middle Earth movies. What will I look forward to next December?
  • Watching Guardians of the Galaxy. This wasn’t hard emotionally; it was just painful for other reasons. I never had high expectations for the film, but so many people told me it was “the best Marvel movie ever.” Despite my doubts, I watched it, hoping to be proven wrong. Instead, it was as bad as I feared. Worse, even. Hold your fire, Marvel fans! I’m still majorly disappointed. Best Marvel movie? To me, it was one of the worst.
  • The end of Mockingjay. Although I would have liked one longer film instead of two shorter installments, the ending got me. So did almost every scene with Gale. Poor guy.
  • Bucky as the Winter Soldier. Someone help him remember!
2015 Wishlist:
  • Loki to appear in the new Avengers film. I know he won’t, but I still wish for it.
  • I want an extra-long extended edition of the Battle of the Five Armies. It was the shortest Middle Earth movie, and I wish it had been longer to include certain scenes, such as Thorin’s funeral. I’m hoping when the Extended Edition releases, that scene will be included, among others.
  • The final Mockingjay needs to include more of Finnick. And definitely the “real or not real” moments.
  • Even if they don’t get together, I want Sherlock to pay more attention to Molly. I also want the Christmas special that’s being talked about.

Sky Destrian

Favorite moments of 2014:
  • The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midseason finale.
  • Watching Lost and Breaking Bad with my brother.
  • Finally seeing what Sherlock was all about. Now I'm caught up, and I have to torture myself with the rest of you.
  • Reading Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel. It proved to me I could fall in love with reading again.
  • Watching 13 Going on 30. A young Mark Ruffalo is the greatest thing.
  • When Mat Franco won America's Got Talent.
  • Falling into the Once Upon a Time fandom with my sister.
  • Watching the movie Stuck In Love. As a writer, it really resonated with me.
  • The Star Wars: Episode VII trailer. I did not expect to like it that much, but I did.
  • I didn't like the first two movies in The Hobbit trilogy as much as I'd hoped, but the third film was an amazing resolution.
  • Starting this blog!
  • Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. My heart is still broken, but it was an amazing film.
Hardest moments of 2014:
  • The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midseason finale.
  • When the reality show Utopia was canceled. Our love may have been shortlived, but it will never be forgotten.
  • Watching the first X-Men. While I did like it, it was also mildly disappointing. I wanted way more character development than I got. (For that, I might just have to read the comics.)
  • When ----Jim---- died on The Walking Dead. If I cried that much at something that didn't even matter, how much worse will it be later?!?
  • The end of the Tolkien movies. It's truly the end of an era, and I'm sad.
  • Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. Steve and Bucky. They loved each other so much, and... and... [sobs] I'm with you till the end of the line, pal.
Wishlist for 2015:
  • I can't wait for the midseason premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in March. I hope to see some amazing moments with Skye. Also, is it too much to ask for Fitzsimmons to reunite?
  • For Avengers 2: Age of Ultron to live up to my expectations. 
  • A Black Widow movie.
  • A fitting end to The Hunger Games trilogy.
  • More Bucky, more Tony Stark, more Steve Rogers. More Avengers. More quality Marvel. More everything.
  • I hope the final season of Parks and Recreation lives up to my expectations. Same with season 4 of New Girl. 
  • As far as my ships, I'd like Nick and Jess from New Girl to get back together, please! I'd like to see even more BROTPs in Avengers 2. I want Andy and April from Parks and Rec to have a child. I want Penny and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory to get married. I want John and Mary from Sherlock to have a happy ending. I want to see more of Steve and Sharon Carter from the Marvel Universe (and Steve and Natasha). I want more Steve and Natasha, more Clint and Natasha, and more Steve and Bucky. 
  • I want to finally have enough time to watch all the shows I want to see.
  • I want all my favorite characters to be happy, but more than that, I want feels, feels, feels. 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2015 will be an exciting year! How did your fandoms treat you in 2014? What's on your wishlist for 2015?

3 comments:

  1. Jaime - Agony was the BEST. EVER. It was so ridiculous, yet so perfect.

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    Replies
    1. It really was. I couldn't stop laughing... even scenes later when he was no longer on screen. :)

      Ridiculous, yet perfect: couldn't have said it better.

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  2. Ok, firstly... be careful, guys. Not everyone is as caught up on certain things (Marvel, OUAT, etc), like you. I'd prefer not to be completely spoiled on everything. Thanks! (you haven't done that yet. I'm just making you aware. And if I ever start to spoil things for you, let me know!!)

    Second... Jaime, there is already talk of a new cross-over between The Flash and Arrow!! So fear not, that wishlist item is well on it's way to being a reality!

    Thirdly... Rica, Walden Media is no longer involved with the Narnia films, sorry! But, the series isn't dead... they're still talking about/working out how to do Silver Chair. But some time has to go by because of... contracts or something. I forget how that works exactly. Want more info? Check NarniaWeb. ;)

    ~Andrea

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