the second thing

[jlh]

(this post was originally a comment on ignaz's post)

There's an angry post over at f_p about how Rymon fans were … cheated.

And I just have to say, did you see the show I saw? Because I saw Ryan's refusal to leave the general vicinity of the judges' table for longer than a few minutes at a time; I saw the strange and wonderful sharing of breath mints in that way where they both decide that whatever they are doing together is more important that moving the show forward, as if they aren't being broadcast live to millions of people around the world but instead are just in Simon's car or something; I saw Ryan actually choke up as he handed the microphone to Simon and tilt his head as if to say, "C'mon, man, don't make me talk right now"; I saw the cameras cut away from what happened next not, I think, because of fear of the ho-yay (I mean, what show are we talking about here?) but because it was an intensely personal moment; and I saw Simon, after saying many things, go back to hugging Ryan as soon as he could.

I love them. We'll still have the radio; we'll still have pap shots after dinner and vacations in Barbados and probably no wedding to Mezghan and the continuation of this epic thing that they're doing, so epic that sometimes watching it feels like eavesdropping even though I'm actually just watching a television show and they are two of the most self-conscious people ever. It didn't fade, it didn't die, and honestly didn't go entirely unacknowledged in the various video tributes.

And to put on my tin hat here, I think the fact that they didn't pump it up in the packages while they went on at length about Paula is partially about the tribute that Paula herself never received and clearly should have, and also about how whether they are fucking or not, Ryan and Simon have a real, personal relationship that isn't just about clowning around for the cameras. As entertained as I am by their antics, and as much as their interplay has kept me watching this show even when the singers didn't particularly interest me or actively pissed me off, their relationship isn't there in order to keep me entertained. It's real. And for me, not having Simon Fuller do some bullshit package, which would have been couched in all the usual "it's just a bromance" crap, was actually a sign of respect.

Godspeed, Simon Cowell. See you next fall.

Comments

[ignaz]

THIS.100000%.

[jlh]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

[rosied]

My excuse (I was the first of the 2 comments to that post) is that I may not have seen the same show you did - I watch on (often crappy) livestream with the ontd_ai live watch folks, and I quite frequently don't catch the subtle stuff until I download and rewatch.

And now that you mention it, not letting Simon Fuller get his hands on the farewell package after some of the shit he's pulled on the contestants, and the way Paula just got dumped on the stage in isolation last night is probably a Very Good Thing. I felt so sorry and uncomfortable for Paula, and it says a lot for her and for her ffriendship with Simon that she didn't make any comments about the New Reality Show Another Channel has given her and FU AI Producers!

[jlh]

Don't defend! The reason I said this on my journal and not as a comment on that entry is that people should be able to have a space to have their feelings and not have other people up in their grill.

Nigel was the big Rymon shipper on that production team, and after the cutesy vid they got during season 6 I think shit just got too real. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Ryan subtly requested that they not put in too many of those moments. It did put Paula in a weird position, esp as she never got her own goodbye, but you're right in that she was very classy, as was Simon really.

[x_butterfly19_x]

I'm going to reply, because this answer is long and well thought out and I agree so, so much. Even if we'll never ever know the full story (not least because it isn't actually our business :p) I believe there was a story and this has made me feel better about the whole thing :)

[jlh]

I really think there was. They know that the Ryan-Simon thing is a huge part of the show, and for them to not feature it was a conscious decision, especially as so many of Simon's better one-liners were targeted at Ryan.

♥