Welp, I guess I'm here now

I was on a bit of a nostalgia hype and thought it would be fun to rewatch the show in its entirety, having fond but fading memories of it from my childhood and the odd episodes I’ve caught on telly since. Thought, “this’ll be a fun romp”… cut to series 4 and I’m a mess lol. I know what happens in the S5 finale (one of the few things I do vividly remember is that audacious ending) and have been microdosing spoilers to hopefully? maybe? prepare me for watching it in full (perhaps controversial but I can sacrifice chronology if it means not being hit over the head with all the heartbreak in one fell swoop, plus it is *technically* a rewatch).

Maybe it's The Autism™️ but I've found myself unexpectedly deeply moved by all of it. Like, weirdly grief-stricken - the kind of bittersweet sadness that distracts you from your real life and makes you fiercely protective of the experience you're having. At least the infamous bts footage, the cast at Parc Asterix, Anthony Head's pink Nintendo DS etc provide some comic relief from the darker themes of loss and betrayal and sacrifice. It warms my heart that the fandom is still so active, and given there's 60,000 fanfics on AO3, I may have to start dabbling (recommendations welcome!)

So yeah, feeling grateful that this community exists :)