Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Paste BN's crossword, Who Are We To Fight the Alchemy?
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Who Are We To Fight the Alchemy? (Freestyle)
Constructors: Amie Walker & Amanda Rafkin
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- RERUN (13A: Any episode of "The L Word," now) The L Word was a Showtime TV drama that aired from 2004-2009. That definitely makes any episode shown now a RERUN.
- YOU BELONG WITH ME (20A: Taylor Swift song about two people meant to be together) "YOU BELONG WITH ME" is a song from Taylor Swift's second studio album, Fearless (2008).
- SOS (28A: "A li'l help, please. My boat's in bad shape") I imagine adding onto the plea here, "I mean, if it's not too much trouble to come to my assistance..."
- ADAM (39A: "Severance" star Scott) Severance is a TV series that premiered in February of 2022. ADAM Scott plays the role of Mark Scout, one of the workers at Lumon Industries who agrees to a "severance" procedure that separates work memories from non-work memories. The second season of Severance began airing in January of this year.
- GET YOUR OWN (40A: "I'm not sharing!") This made me laugh because it seems to be not quite in the spirit of Valentine's Day.
- INVISIBLE STRING (54A: Taylor Swift song about two people meant to be together) "INVISIBLE STRING" is a song from Taylor Swift's eighth studio album, "Folklore" (2020). I appreciate the duplicate clue of this answer and 20-Across.
- ELLA (60A: "Yellowjackets" actress Purnell) The TV series, Yellowjackets, tells the story of a high school girls' soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The show recounts the time of survival after the crash, as well as events that occur 25 years later. ELLA Purnell plays the role of Jackie Taylor, the captain of the team. This is an extremely timely clue, as the third season of Yellowjackets premieres today on Paramount+ with Showtime.
- YANG (8D: Dr. Cristina ___ (Sandra Oh role)) The medical drama Grey's Anatomy premiered in 2005, and is in its 21st season. Sandra Oh portrayed Dr. Cristina YANG on Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2014.
- LION (21D: Animal known as "simba" in Swahili) This is a great clue, because solvers can be successful if they are familiar with Swahili or if they've seen The Lion King. My cat, Willow, sometimes tries to pretend she's fierce like her LION cousins.
- SANG (25D: Performed a rendition of "Femininomenon" in the car) "Femininomenon" is a song from Chappell Roan's album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
- ALOE (26D: "Say ___ to my little friend" (plant pun)) The silliness of this clue brought a smile to my face.
- ARE WE READY (29D: "Wanna take the leap?") and OH YES I DO (33D: "Absofreakinlutely") I enjoyed this conversation happening in the middle of the grid.
- EVERY (51D: "I feel so high school ___ time I look at you") Here we have some bonus Taylor Swift content. "I feel so high school EVERY time I look at you," is a lyric from Taylor Swift's song, "So High School." The song appears on her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024).
- NOEL (57D: Christmas in Paris) Wait, how did this Christmas clue make it into this Valentine puzzle?
- Many clues in this puzzle are giving Valentine's Day vibes, including:
- ILY (6A: Letters that might accompany <3 in a text) ILY = I Love You
- KNEELS (5D: Prepares to propose)
- ODES (41D: Poems written to a lover, maybe)
- TRYST (53D: Secret love affair)
- IS TO (56D: "To love another person ___ see the face of God") This is a line from the musical, "Les Miserables."
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
WHO ARE WE TO FIGHT THE ALCHEMY? (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to YOU BELONG WITH ME and INVISIBLE STRING.
Happy Valentine's Day! Today we have an example of what I like to call a themed-ish puzzle. Is it themed? It doesn't have the standard three to five longer answers that are tied together by some sort of wordplay. Is it themeless? There's a definite idea uniting many of the clues. We have the titles of two Taylor Swift songs about inevitable love. The title is a lyric from another Taylor Swift song "about two people meant to be together," "The Alchemy." And then, of course, there are the many other references to love in the grid and the fill. Perhaps the theme here is Taylor Swift celebrates Valentine's Day. Thank you, Amie and Amanda, for this heartfelt puzzle.